
STATUE OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 



SHORT HISTORY 



OF 



KHODE ISLAND, 



BY 



GrEORUE Washington Greene, LL.D., 

Late Non-Residknt Professor of American History in Cornell 

University; Author of "The Life of Major-Geneeal 

Nathanael Greene;" "Historical View of the 

American Eevolution," etc., etc. 








providence : 

J. A. & R. A. Reid, Publishers, 
1877. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

ANNA MARIA GREENE, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



FT? 



TO 

Jlnna ilaria §xmit, 

My Dear Mother : 

you beak your ninety-three years so lightly that i invite your 
attention to a new volume of mine "with as much assurance of your 
sympathy as when i crowed and wondered over my first picture 
book an infant on your knee. for your sympathy is as quick and 
as warm as it was then, and your memory goes back with unerring 
certainty to the men and the scenes of almost a century ago. 
Your eyes have looked upon Washington, and your tenacious 
memory can still recall the outline of his majestic form. 

The FIRST TIME THAT I VENTURED TO SEND FORTH A VOLUME TO THE 
WORLD, I SET UPON THE DEDICATION PAGE THE NAME OF MY FATHER. 
He HAS BEEN DEAD MANY YEARS. YOU STILL LINGER BEHIND, AND LONG 
MAY YOU LINGER. LONG MAY THOSE FRESH MEMORIES WHICH GIVE SUCH 
A CHARM. TO YOUR DAILY LIFE CONTINUE TO CHEER YOU AND INSTRUCT 
THOSE WHO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF LIVING WITH YOU. THEY HAVE SEEN 
LIFE IMPERFECTLY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN WHAT A CHARM IT WEARS WHEN 
THE HEART THAT HAS BEAT SO LONG STILL LENDS ITS GENIAL WARMTH TO 
THE STILL INQUIRING MIND. 

KeVERENTIALLY and AFFECTIONATELY YOUR SON, 

GEORGE W. GREENE. 



. Preface, 



There are two classes of history, each of which has claims 
upon our attention peculiarly its own. One is a sober teacher, 
the other a pleasant companion. One opens new paths of 
thought, the other throws new light upon the old, and both 
agree in making man the chief object of their meditations. 

Kearly two thousand years ago a Roman historian likened 
the life of his country to the life of man. Time has confirmed 
the parallel. Nations, like men, have their infancy and their 
youth, their robust manhood and their garrulous old age. Their 
lives like the lives of men are full of encouragement and of 
warning. Interpret them aright and they become trusty guides. 
Misapply their lessons and you grope in the dark and stumble 
at every step. 

And both states and men have their special duties and were 
created for special ends. The God that made them assigned to 
each its problem, and to work this out is to work out His will. 
Of this problem history is the record and the interpreter. It 
tells us what man has been, and thereby aids us to divine what 
he yet may be. 

If with the philosopher history reveals the laws of life, with 
the poet she recalls the past and stirs human sympathies in 
their profoundest depths. Man follows man on her checkered 
stage"; nations rise and fall; mysteries enchain us; imagination 
controls us; reason guides us; conscience admonishes and 



Vi PREFACE. 

warns ; and first and foremost of all our stimulants to action is 
our sympathy with our fellow-man. 
' I have attempted in the following pages to tell what the part 
of Ehode Island has been in this great drama. A talent was 
entrusted to her. Did she wrap it in a napkin"? 

To those who are familiar with the accurate and exhaustive 
work of Governor Arnold, it will be needless to say that but for 
the aid of his volumes, mine would never have been written. 

GEORGE W. GREENE. 

Windmill Cottage, 
East Greenwich, R. L, April Sth, 1877, 



3inahjticttl liable. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONDITION OF AFFAIRS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY AND PLY- 
MOUTH COLONIES. — ARRIVAL AND BANISHMENT OF ROGER 

WILLIAMS. 

Page. 

The religious sentiment connected with the found- 
ation of states, . . . .1 

Resistance to the doctrine of theocrac}'" occa- 
sioned the settlement of Rhode Island, . 2 
1631. Ship Lyon arrived at Boston, bringing Roger 

Williams, . . ... 2 

Early life of Williams, ... 2 

Massachusetts in possession of two distinct colo- 
nies, .... 3 

In Massachusetts Colony the clergy were virtu- 
ally rulers, and they were extremely rigid, 3 

Disputes between Williams and the authorities 
of Massachusetts Bay Colonj^, . 4 

Removal of Williams to Plymouth, . . 4 

Williams makes friendship with Massasoit and 
Miantonomi, ... 5 

Learns the Indian language, . , 5 

Williams returns to Salem, . . 5 

1635. He is persecuted and finally banished, . 6 

Articles of banishment, ... 6 

CHAPTER II. 

SUFFERINGS OF ROGER WILLIAMS IN THE WILDERNESS. — 
FOUNDS A SETTLEMENT ON THE SEEKONK RIVER. — IS AD- 
VISED TO DEPART.— SEEKS OUT A NEW PLACE WHICH HE 
CALLS PROVIDENCE. 

Attempt to send Williams to England, . 7 

His flight, .... 8 

He is fed by the Indians, . . .8 



VIU ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 

He is given land on the Seekonk River by Mas- 
soit and starts a settlement, . . 8 

He receives a friendly letter from the Governor 
of Plymouth asking him to remove, . 9 

He starts with five companions in a canoe to 
find a place for a settlement, and finally 
lands at Providence, . . .9 

CHAPTER HI. 

WILLIAMS OBTAINS A GRANT OF LAND AND FOUNDS A COLONY. 
—FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONY. — WILLIAMS GOES 
TO ENGLAND TO OBTAIN A ROYAL CHARTER. 

Early inhabitants of Rhode Island, . . 11 

Williams makes peace between Oanonicus and 

Massasoit, . . . .12 

He receives a grant of land from Canonicus and 

begins a settlement, . . .12 

Compact of the colonists at Providence, . 13 

Experiment of separation of church from state 

tried in the new Colony, . . 13 

The right of suff"rage not regarded as a natural 

right. Illustrated by Joshua Verin and his 

wife, . . . . .14 

1639. The first church founded in Providence, . 15 

Five select men appointed to govern the Colony, f 

subject to the action of the Monthly Towa 

Meeting, . . . .15 

Massachusetts Colony applied for a new charter 

to cover the land occupied by Providence, . 15 

1643. Providence in connection with Aquidneck and 

Warwick sent Williams to England to obtain 

a Royal charter, ... 15 

1644. Williams returns in 1644 successsful, and is 

received with exultation, . . 16 

CHAPTER IV. 

SETTLEMENT OF AQUIDNECK AND WARWICK.— PEQUOT WAR. — 
DEATH OF MIANTONOMI. 

1637, Anna Hutchinson arrived in Massachusetts and 

banished, .... 17 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. IX 

Page. 

Nineteen of her followers under William Cod- 

dington and John Clarke, purchased the 

Island of Aquidneck and formed settlements 

at Pocasset and Newport, . . 17 

Roger Williams proclaimed the right of religious 

liberty to every human being, . 18 

Samuel Gorton banished from Pocasset, . 19 

He denied the authority of all government ex- 
cept that authorized by the King and Parlia- 
ment, . . . .19 
He, with eleven others, bought Shawomet and 

settled there, ... 19 

He is besieged by troops from Massachusetts, 
is captured, imprisoned, and afterwards re- 
leased, . . . . .19 
He is appointed to a magistracy in Aquidneck, 19 
Roger Williams prevented the alliance of the 
Pequots and Narragan setts, and formed one 
between the English and the Narragansetts, 21 
Pequots rooted out and crushed, . 21 
Miantonomi treacherously put to death, . 22 
The Narragansetts put themselves under the 
protection of the English, . * 22 



CHAPTER V. 

CHARTER GRANTED TO PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. — ORGAN- 
IZATION UNDER IT.— THE LAWS ADOPTED. 

1643. The charter granted to Providence Plantations, 23 
Provisions of the charter, . . .23 

1647. The corporators met at Portsmouth and in a 
general assembly accepted the charter, and 
proceeded to organize uuder it, . 24 

The government declared to be democratical, . 24 
President and other otScers chosen, . 25 

Description of the code of laws, . . 25 

Design for a seal adopted, . . 26 

Roger Williams presented with one hundred 

pounds for services in obtaining the charter, 26 
Spirit of the law, . . • .27 



X ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

CHAPTER Vr. 

FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TROUBLES.— UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT 

AT USURPATION BY CODDINGTON. 

Page. 

Death of Canonicus, . . .28 

Possibilit}^ of the doctrine of soul liberty demon- 
strated, . . . .28 
Dissensions among the colonists, . . 29 
Troubles with Massachusetts, . . 29 
Baptists persecuted in Massachusetts, . 30 
165L Coddinoton obtained a royal commission as 
Governor of Rhode Island and Connecticut 
for life, which virtually dissolved the first 
charter, . . . .30 
Roger Williams sent to England to ask for a 

confij-mation of the charter, . . 31 

John Clarke, also, sent to ask for a revocation 
of Coddington's commission, . . 31 

1652. Slaves not allowed to be held in bondage longer 

than ten years, , . .32 

Commerce with the Dutch of Manhattan inter- 
rupted by war between England and Holland, 32 
Coddington's commission revoked and the first 
charter restored, . . .32 

CHAPTER VII. 

MORE FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TROUBLES. — CIVIL AND 
CRIMINAL REGULATIONS OF THE COLONY.— ARRIVAL OF 
QUAKERS. 

Conscience clajxned as the rule of actioijjn civil 
as weTi-as^4eligious matters-, — ". . 33 

Contentions between the Island and the main- 
land towns, . . . .34 
1654. Court of Commissioners met and effected a re- 
union in the Colony, . . .34 

Attempts of the United Colonies to make war on 
the Narragansetts, but they failed, as Wil- 
liams had influenced Massasoit not to sanc- 
tion it, . . . .35 

Qualification of citizenship, . - .36 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. xi 

Page. 

Duties of citizenship ascendant over dignity of 

office, . . . . .37 

Protection of marriage, . . .38 

The Pawtiixet controversy settled by acknowl- 

edgement of the claims of Rhode Island, . 38 

Fort built for protection against Indians, . 39 

Quakers arrived. Ditference of treatment of 
them between Rhode Island and Massachu- 
setts, . . . . .39 
1663. A new charter granted by Charles II. and ac- 
cepted by the colonists, . . .40 

CHAPTER VIII. 

TROUBLES IN OBTAINING A NEW CHARTER. — PROVISIONS OF 
THE CHARTER.— DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING THE NARRA- 
GANSETT PURCHASE.— CURRENCY.— SCHOOLS. 

The new charter gave a democratic government, 41 
Some of its provisions, . . .41 

Religious liberty recognized by it, . . 42 

Assembly and courts reorganized, . 43 

State magistrates chosen by the freemen, . 44 

Jealousy of Massachusetts, . . 44 

Trouble concerning the ownership of J^Tarragan- 

sett, . . . .45 

Attempt to dispossess Rhode Island of part of 

her territory, . . .46 

The ISTarragansetts compelled to mortgage their 

lands to the United Colonies, . . 47 

New charter obtained by Connecticut extending 
its bounds to the Narragansett River, . 48 

1663. The boundary line left to arbitrators who fix it 

at the Pawcatuck River, . . 49 

The intrigues of John Scott for the purchase of 
the Narragansett tract, . . 49 

> Letter obtained from the King, putting the Nar- 
ragansett purchase under protection of Mas- 
sachusetts and Connecticut, . . 50 
This was rendered null by the second charter of 

Rhode Island grant soon afterward. . 51 

Wampum used as money in the Colony, . 52 



XU ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 

Also used as an article of ornament by the 
natives, . . . .52 

1652, Massachusetts began to coin silver in 1652, . 53 
Rhode Island abolished the use of wampum ten 
years later, . . . .53 

1662. New England shilling made legal tender in 

Rhode Island, . . . .53 

1640-1663. First schools established at Providence and 

Newport, . . . .53 

Affirmation is declared to be equal to an oath, 54 

CHAPTER IX., 

TERRITORY OF RHODE ISLAND IS INCREASED BY THE AD- 
DITION OF BLOCK ISLAND. — DISPUTES BETWEEN RHODE 
ISLAND AND THE OTHER COLONIES SETTLED BY ROYAL 
COMMAND.— STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE COLONY IN 1667. 

1663. Block Island added to Rhode Island, . . 55 
Regulations concerning its admission, . 56 
It is incorporated under the name of New Shore- 
ham, . . . .56 

Four Commissioners sent to America to reduce 
the Dutch and settle all questions of appeal 
between the colonies, . . .57 

The vexed questions of boundary line between 
Rhode Island and Plymouth ; the Narragan- 
sett question and Warwick difficulties referred 
to the Commissioners, who referred the first 
to the King and decided the second in favor 
of Rhode Island, . . .57 

The Indians removed from King's Province, 59 

Five propositions submitted by the Commis- 
sioners to the Rhode Island Assembly, . 59 

1st. All householders should take the oath of 
allegiance to the King, . , 59 

2d. Mode of admitting freemen, . . 59 

3d. Admission to the sacrament open to all 
well disposed persons, . . .60 

4th. All laws and resolves derogatory to the 
King repealed, . . . .60 

5th. Provisions for self-defence, . . 60 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. xiii 

Page. 

1672. Trouble with John Paine conceining Prudence 

Island, . . . .62 

Members of the Assembly to be paid for their 

services, . . . .63 

Financial difficulties in the Colony, . . 64 

1667. Preparations for defence against the French, 64 

1672. Act passed to facilitate the collection of taxes, . 65 

CHAPTER X. 

KING PHILIP'S WAR. 

Wamsutta summoned before the General Court 

at Plymouth, . . .67 

His death, . . . .67 

Indignation of the Indians, especially King 

Philip, . . . . .68 

Condition of the Indians, . . 68 

Attack on Svvanzey, . . .69 

The Indians pursued by the English, . 69 
Philip and his allies beseiged in a swamp at 

Pocasset, . . . .71 

His escape, . . . .71 

The Indian attack on Hadie}', . . 71 

Gofte, the regicide, . . . .72 

Philip joined the Nari-agansetts, . . 72 

Battle in the swamp, , . .73 
Indians defeated, and their village destroyed, 74 

Depredations in Rhode Island, . . 75 

Death of Canonchet, . . . 76 

Death of Philip and end of the war, . . 77 

Condition of the countrj' after the war, . 77 

CHAPTER XI. 

INDIANS STILL TROUBLESOME.— CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.— 
TROUBLES CONCERNING THE BOUNDARY LINES. 

Precautions against the Indians, . . 78 

Troubles with Connecticut concerning Narragan- 

sett, . . . . .79 

Two agents sent to England. . . 80 



Xiv ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 

War party obtains power, . . .80 

Foundation of East Greenwich, . . 82 

Bitter controversy concerning the limits and 
extent of the Providence and Pawtuxet pur- 
chase, . . . . .82 
1696-1712. Settled in 1696 and 1712, . . 83 

CHAPTER XII. 

DEATH OF SEVERAL OF THE MOST PROMINENT MEN.— 
CHANGES IN LEGISLATION. 

The United Colonies still encroached upon Rhode 
Island, . . . .84 

Deaths of John Clarke, Roger Williams, Samuel 
Gorton, William Harris, and William Cod- 
dington, . . . .85 

1678. Financial condition of the Colony in 1678, . 88 
Changes in the usages of election, . . 89 
Bankrupt law passed and afterwards repealed, 89 
Law concerning disputed titles to lands, . 90 

1679. Law for the protection of servants, . 91 
Law for the protection of sailors, . . 91 
John Clawson's curse, . . ^ 92 

CHAPTER XIII. 

COURTS AND ARMY STRENGTHENED.— COMMISSIONERS SENT 
FROM ENGLAND.— CHARTER REVOKED. 

Disputes concerning the title of Potowomut, . 93 

1680. Power of the town to reject or accept new 

citizens, . , . .93 

Efficiency of the courts increased, . 94 

English navigation act injures the commercial 

interests of the Colony, . . 95 

Commissioners appointed to settle the vexed 

question of the King's Province, . 96 

Rhode Island's position in New England in re- 
gard to the other colonies, . . 96 
Trouble with the Commissioners, . . 97 
Charter revoked, . . .98 
Rhode Island returned to its original form of 
government, . . . 9S 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. XV 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CHANGES IN FORM OF GOVERNMENT.— SIR EDMOND ANDROS 
APPOINTED GOVERNOR.— HE OPPRESSES THE COLONISTS 

AND IS FINALLY DEPOSED. 

Page. 

John Greene sent to England with an address to 

the Kin^ for the preservation of the charter, 100 
Changes in the names and the boundaries of 

Kingston, Westerly and East Greenwich, . 101 
1687. Arrival of Sir EdniondAndros, . . 101 

Taxes farmed out, .... 102 
Marriages made illegal unless performed by the 

rites of the English Church, . . 103 

Passport sj'stem introduced, . . 103 

Composition of the council, . . . 103 

Andros's commission enlarged, . . 105 

The press subjected to the will of the Governor, 105 
Title of Rhode Island to King's Province again 

confirmed, .... 106 

Persecution of the Huguenots, . . 107 

Andros deposed, .... 107 

CHAPTER XV. 

CHARTER GOVERNMENT AGAIN RESUMED. — FRENCH WAR. — 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. — CHARGES AGAINST THE COL- 
ONIES. 

Chief-Justice Dudley attempted to open his 

court, he is seized and imprisoned, . . 108 

Return of the old form of government, . 108 

Legality of resumption confirmed by the King, 109 

1690. The Assembly reorganized, . . 110 
Town house built, . . . .111 
The colonists taxed to sustain the French and 

Indian war, .... 112 

Coast invaded by French privateers, . 112 

New taxes levied, .... 113 
Small-pox broke out in the Colony, . 113 

1691. Sir William Phipps appointed Governor of Mas- 

sachusetts with command over all the forces 
of New England, ' . • • 114 



XVI ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 

This command over the forces of Rhode Island 
restricted to time of war, . . . 115 

1693. First mail line established between Boston and 

Viro:inia, . . . .116 

State officers to be paid a reo:ular salarj'', . 116 

Assembly divided into two houses, . . 116 

Indians still troublesome, , ,117 

Courts of Admiralty established in the Colony, . 117 
1697-1698. Trouble from enemies to the charter govern- 
ment, . . . . .117 
Interests of trade fostered, . . 118 
Smugglintr common, . . .118 
Charges made against the Colony by the Royal 

Governor, .... 119 

Captain Kidd, . . . .119 

CHAPTER XVI. 

COLONIAL PROSPERITY. — DIFFICULTIES OCCASIONED BY THE 
WAR WITH THE FRENCH. — DOMESTIC AFFAIRS OF THE 
COLONY . 

1702. Prosperity of the Colony, . . .120 

Providence the second town in the Colony, 120 

Religious freedom, . . . .120 

Attempt to establish a Vice-Ro3'alty over the 

Colonies, .... 122 

1701. Better Laws enacted, . ... 123 

1702. Preparations for defence, . . . 123 

1703. Boundary line between Rhode Island and Con- 

necticut finally settled, . . 124 
The character and interest of the Colony misun- 
derstood by England, . . 124 
French privateer captured, - . .125 
Further acts of the Assembly, . . 126 
Slave trade. . . . , . 127 

1708. First census taken, . . . 127 
Public auctions llrst held, . . .128 
Commercial and agricultural progress, . 128 

1709. First printing press set up at J^ewport, . 129 
Internal improvements, . . . 130 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. XVU 

CHAPTER XVII. 

PAPER MONEY TROUBLES. — ESTABLISHMENT OF BANKS. — PRO- 
TECTION OF HOME INDUSTRIES.— PROPERTY QUALIFICA- 
TIONS FOR SUFFRAGE. 

Page. 

Issue of paper money, . . . 131 

Clerk of the Assembly first elected from outside 

the House, .... 131 

Arts of peace resumed, . . . 132 

New militia laws enacted, . . . 132 

Laws concerning trade, . . . 133 

Troubles occasioned by paper money, . 134 

1715. Banks established in Massachusetts and Rhode 

Island, . . - . .134 

Paper money question carried into election, 134 

Improvements in Newport, . . . 136 

Criminal code, . . . 136 

1716. School-houses built in Portsmouth, . . 136 
Punishment of slander, . . . 137 
Indian lands taken under the protection of the 

Colony, . . . . .137 

Law concerning intestates, . . 137 

1719. First edition of the laws printed, . . 138 

Boundary troubles, . . . 138 

Industry of the Colony protected by loans and 

bounties, . . . . 138 

1724. Freehold act passed, . . . 139 

1723. Pirate captured, . . ' . 139 

Evidences of the proo^ress of the Colony, . 139 

Death of Governor Cranston, . . 141 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

CHANGE OF THE EXECUTIVE. — ACTS OF THE ASSEMBLY.— 
GEORGE BERKELEY'S RESIDENCE IN NEWPORT.— FRIENDLY 
FEELING BETWEEN THE COLONISTS AND THE MOTHER 
COUNTRY. 

New Governor elected, . . . 142 

State of affairs in England, . . . 142 

1728. Revision of the criminal code, . . 143 



XVlll 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. 



P»ge. 



Laws for the encouragement and regulation of 
trade, ..... 
1727. Earthquake, .... 
1723-1724. Division of the Colony into counties, 
George Berkeley, 
Establishment of Redwood Library, 



Laws concerning charitable institutions 
and Indians, 

1730. New census taken, 

1731. New bank voted, 
Commercial prosperity, . 

New edition of the laws published. 
Fisheries encouraged. 
Regulation concerning election, 
William Wanton chosen Governor, 
Depreciation of paper money, 
1733. Marriage laws, . 

John Wanton chosen Governor, 
Watchfulness of the Board of Trade, 
1735-1736. Throat distemper, 

Law against bribery at elections, 
Arrival of his Majesty's ship Tartar, 
Means of protection against tire, . 



, Quakers 



144 
145 
146 
146 

147 

147 

148 • 

149^ 

149 

149 

150 

150 

152 

152>^ 

152 

163 

153 

154 

154 

155 

156 



CHAPTER XIX. 



WAR WITH SPAIN.— NEW TAXES LEVIED BY ENGLAND.— RE- 
LIGIOUS AWAKENING AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

Preparation for war against the Spaniards, . 166 
Great expedition against the Spanish West 

Indies, . . . . . 157 

New taxes levied on importations by England, 157 
Death of Governor Wanton, who is succeeded 

by Richard Ward, . . .158 

Arrival of Whitefield and Fothergill, . 169 

Further provisions for the defence of the Colony, 159 
Report of the Governor concerning paper money, 160 
1741. Boundary line between Rhode Island and Mas- 
sachusetts settled,. . . . 161 



y 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. XIX 

CHAPTER XX. 

PKOGRESS OF THE WAR WITH THE FRENCH.— CHANGE IN THE 
JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS. — SENSE OF COMMON INTER- 
EST DEVELOPING AMONG THE COLONISTS. — LOUISBURG 

CAPTURED. 

Page. 

Privateers fitted out, . . . 162 

1741. James Greene started an iron works, . 162 

Chang-es of the jurisdictions of the courts, 163 

Encroachments of Connecticut, . . 163 

1741. Newport Artillery chartered, . . 165 

Counterfeit bills troublesome, . . 164 

1744. Lotteries legalized, . . 165 

Rhode Island's part in the capture of Louis- 
burg, . . . .165 
Death of Colonel John Cranston, . . 166 
Two privateers and two hundred men lost, 166 
Sense of common interest and mutual depend- 
ence gaining ground, . . . 166 
Caution against fraudulent voting, . 167 
Disaster to the French armada, . . 168 

1746. Close of the campaign, . . . 168 

Accession of territory, . . . 168 

CHAPTER XXI. 

ATTEMPT TO RETURN TO SPECIE PAYMENTS. — CHANGES IN THE 
REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP. — NEW COUNTIES AND 
TOWNS FORMED.— FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. — WARD AND 
HOPKINS CONTEST.— ESTABLISHMENT OF NEWSPAPERS. 

1748. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, . . .170 

Hutchinson's scheme for returning to specie pay- 
ment rejected by Rhode Island, . 171- 
Act against swearing revised, . . 172 
Provisions concerning leg'al residence, . 172 
New census taken, .... 172 
1748-1749. Death of John Callender, . . 173 
Beaver Tail Light built, . . .173 
Troubles from depreciation of currency, . 173^- 

1754. First divorce granted, . . 174 

Kent County formed, . . 174 



XX ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 

1752. Gregorian calendar adopted, . . 175 
Troubles concerning the Narragansett land set- 
tled, .175 

1753. First patent granted in the Colony for making 

potash, . .175 
Fellowship Club founded — afterwards the New- 
port Max"ine Society, . . . 176 

1754. Commissioners sent to the Albany Congress, 176 
French and Indian war, . . 177 
French settlers imprisoned, . . 178 
Ward and Hopkins contest, . . 178 
Providence court house and library burned, 179 
David Douglass built a theatre at Providence, . 180 

1758. Newport Mercury established, . . 180 
1762. Providence Gazette established, . . 180 

Writs of assistance first called for, . 181 

1759. Death of PJchard Partridge. . . .181 
Freemasonry tirst introduced into the Colony, 181 
Regulations concerning fires, . .181 
Towns of Hopkinton and Johnston formed, 182 

CHAPTER XXII. 

REtROSPECT. — ENCROACHMENTS OF ENGLAND. — RESISTANCE 
TO THE REVENUE LAWS.— STAMP ACT.— SECOND CONGRESS 
OF COLONIES MET AT NEW YORK.— EDUCATIONAL INTEREST. 

Resume of the progress of the Colonj% . 183 

Reason for the enactment of the laws, . 184 

Rhode Lsland's solution of the problem of self- 
government and soul-liberty, .185 

Encroachments of England on the liberties of 
the colonies, .... 186 

War had taught the colonies a much needed 
lesson, ..... 187 

Harbor improvements, . .188 

Parliament votes men and money for the defence 
of the American colonies, . . 188 

Restrictions of commerce, . . 189 

1764. Molasses and sugar act renewed and extended, 189 

Resistance to the enforcement of the obnoxious 
revenue laws, . . .190 

Action of the colonies in regard to the stamp 
act. . . . . .191 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. XXI 

Page, 

England is obliged to repeal the stamp act, . 193 

Resistance to impressment, . . 193 

1765. Second Colonial Congress met at New York and 

issued addresses to the people, Parliament, 

and to the King, . . . ,194 

New digest of the laws completed and printed, 195 

1766. Free schools established at Providence, . 196 

Brown University founded, . . 196 

Iron mine discovered, . . . 197 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

TRANSIT OF VENUS.— A STRONG DISLIKE TO ENGLAND MORE 
OPENLY EXPRESSED. — NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENT. — IN- 
TRODUCTION OF SLAVES PROHIBITED. — CAPTURE OF THE 
GASPEE. 

Collision between British officers and citizens, . 199 
Dedication of libertj^ trees, . . 199 

Laws concerning domestic interests, . . 199 

Transit of Venus, . . .200 

Armed resistance to England more openly talked 

of, . . . . ' . 201 

Scuttling of the sloop-of-war Liberty, . . 202 

Non-importation of tea agreed to. . . 203 

Prosperity of Newport, . . . 203 

First Commencement at Rhode Island College, 204 
1770. Further introduction of slaves prohibited, . 204 

Governor Hutchinson advanced a claim for the 

command of the Rhode Island militia, . 205 

Evidence of justice in Rhode Island, . 206 

Capture and destruction of the schooner Gaspee, 207 

CHAP'TER XXIV. 

PROPOSITION FOR THE UNION OF THE COLONIES. — ACTIVE 
MEASURES TAKEN LOOKING TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE. — 
DELEGATES ELECTED TO CONGRESS. — DESTRUCTION OF TEA 
AT PROVIDENCE.— TROOPS RAISED.— POSTAL SYSTEM ES- 
TABLISHED.— DEPREDATIONS OF THE BRITISH.—" GOD SAVE 
THE UNITED COLONIES." 

1774. Limitation of negro slavery, . . • 210 

Resolution recommending the union of the col- 
onies passed at Providence town meeting, . 210 

B* 



21« 



XXii ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 
1774. Boston port bill passed, . . .211 

Small-pox at Newport, . . • 211 

Indication of popular indignation, 212 

Activity of Committees of Correspondence, . 212 
Publishment of the Hutchinson letters. . 213 

Franklin removed from his position as superin- 
tendent of American post-offices, . 214 
1774. General Gage entered Boston as Governor, 215 
Sympathy of Ehode Island for Boston; East 

Greenwich the first to open a subscription, . 215 
■ Hopkins and Ward elected delegates to Con- 
gress, . . ... 
1774. Congress met in Philadelphia ; adopted a declar- 
ation of rights; recommended the formation 
of an American Association, . . 217 
Distribution of arms, . . 218 
Exportation of sheep stopped ; manufacture of 

fire-arms begun, .... 219 
Tea burnt at Providence, . . 219 

Troops started for Boston, . . . 219 

Army of Observation formed with Nathanael ' 

Greene, commander, . . . 220 

Rhode Island troops on Jamaica Plains, . 221 

Articles of war passed, . . . 221 

Capture of a British vessel hy Captain Abraham 

Whipple, . • . . . .221 

Rhode Island Navy founded, . . 222 

William Goddard's postal system went into 

operation, .... 222 

Colony put upon a war footing, . . 223 

Bristol bombarded and the coast of Rhode Island 

plundered, .... 224 

Part of the debt of Rhode Island assumed by 
Congress as a war debt, . . . 225 ■ 

. Rhode Island in the expedition against Quebec, 226 
Depredation of the British squadron, . . 226 

Battle on Prudence Island, . . 227 

Evacuation of Boston, . . . 228 

Death of Samuel Ward, . . .228 

The Assembly of Rhode Island renounced their 
allegiance to the British Crown, . 228 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. xxiil 

CHAPTER XXy. 

RHODE ISLAND BLOCKADED.— DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
INDORSED BY THE ' ASSEMBLY. — NEW TROOPS RAISED.— 
FRENCH ALLIANCE.— UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THE 
BRITISH FROM RHODE ISLAND. 

Page. 

L^lands and waters of Rhode Island taken pos- 
session of by the British, . . .229 
Quota of Rhode Island, . . . • 230 
Inoculation introduced, . . . 231 
Treatment of Tories . . . 231 
Declaration of Independence indorsed by the 

Assembly, . . . . . 232 

Rhode Island's part in the Continental Navy, 232 
Convention of Eastern States to form a con- 
certed plan of action, . . , 233 
Financial troubles, ... 234 
Regiment of negroes raised, . . 234 
1778. Tidings of the French alliance received, .235 
Expedition against Bristol and Warren, . 235 
Attempt to drive the British from Rhode Island 
rendered unsuccessful by a terrible storm, 
and jealousy among the officers of the French 
fleet, . . . .236 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

ACTS OF THE BRITISH TROOPS.— DISTRESS IN RHODE ISLAND.— 
EVACUATION OF NEWPORT.— REPUDIATION.— END OF THE 
WAR. 

Disappointment of the Americans, . .241 

Wanton destruction of life and property by the 

British, ..... 241 
Pigot galley captured by Talbot, . . 242 

Scarcity of food in Rhode Island, . . 242 

Steuben's tactics introduced into the army, . 244 
Difficulty in raising money, . 244-^ 

British left Newport. . . .245 

Town records carried off by the British, ,. 246 

Repudiation of debt, . . . 247— 

Rhode Island's quota, . . . 24S 



Xxiv ANALYTICAL TABLE. 

Page. 
Preparations for quarterinor and feeding the 

troops, .... 249 

An English fleet of sixteen ships menaced the 

Rhode Island coast, . . . 250 

Assembly met at Newport ; the first time in 

four years, .... 250 

1781. End of the war, . . • .251 
The federation completed, . • 251 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

ARTS OF PEACE RESUMED. — DOCTRINE OF STATE RIGHTS. 

Name of King's County changed to Washington, 252 
New census taken. . . . 253 

Question of State Rights raised, . . 253 

1782. Nicholas Cooke died, . . . 254 , 
* Armed resistance to the collection of taxes, . 254-^^ 

Troubles arising from financial embarrassment, 255 

1783. Acts of the Assembly, . . .256 

CHAPTER XXVI I L 

DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCr. — INTRODUCTION OF THE 
SPINNING-JENNY. — BITTER OPPOSITION TO THE FEDERAL 
UNION. — RHODE ISLAND FINALLY ACCEPTS THE CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

Desperate attempt to float a new issue of paper 

money, .... 257^^/' 

Forcing acts declared unconstitutional, . 258 

First spinning-jenny made in the United States, 259 
Bill passed to pay five shillings in the pound for 

paper money. . . 260 

Refusal of Rhode Island to send delegates to the 

Federal Convention, . . . 261 

Proposed United States Constitution printed, 261 

Acceptance of the Constitution by various states, 261 

State of manufactures, . . . 262 

1790. .Rhode Island declared her adhesion to the Union. 264 



ANALYTICAL TABLE. . XXV 
CHAPTER XXIX. 

MODE OP LIFE IN OUR FOREFATHERS' DAYS. 

Page. 

Early condition of the land, . . 265 

Agriculture the principal pursuit of the early 

settlers, . . . . .266 

Early traveling, . . .267 

Early means of education, . . . 267 

Amusements, .... 268 

CHAPTER XXX. 

COMMERCIAL GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

^lode Island wiser on account of her previous 

"struggles for self-government, . . 270 

Commercial condition of Rhode Island, . 271' 

Trade with East Indies commenced, . . 271- 

1790. First cotton factory went into operation, . 273 

1799. Free school system established, . . 273 

1819. Providence Institution for Savings founded, 274 

Canal from the Providence River to the north 

line of the state projected and failed, . 274 

1801. Great fire in Providence, . . 274 

Visit of Washington to Rhode Island, . 275 

1832. Providence made a city, . . 275 

Rhode Island in the War of 1812, . 276 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE DORR REBELLION. 

The Right of Suffrage becomes the question of 

Rhode Island's politics, . . • 277 

Inequality of representation, . . 278 

No relief obtainable fi-om the Assembly, . 278 

Formation of Suffrage Associations, . 279 

Peoples' Constitution, so called, voted for, . 279 

1842. Thomas Wilson Dorr elected Governor under it, 280 
Conflict between the old and new government, . 280 
Attempt of the Dorr government to organize 
and seize the arsenal both failures, . . 281 



XXVi • ANALYTICAL TABLE 

Page. 

End of the War, . . . 281 

Doit tried for treason and sentenced to imprison- 
ment for life ; afterwards restored to his politi- 
cal and civil rights, . . . 281 
New Constitution adopted, . . 282- 
Freedom of thought and speech the foundation 
of Rhode Island's prosperity, ^ — .«__—- — ^ • 228 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

LIFE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. — THE "WAR OF THE 
REBELLION. — THE CENTENARY. 

Life under the Constitution, . . . 283 

The War of the Rebellion, . . 283 

Rhode Island's quota, . . • 284 

The Centennial Exposition, . . 285 

APPENDIX. 

King Charles' Charter, . . .291 

Present State Constitution, . . 301 

Copy of the Dorr Constitution, . . 317 

State seal, . . . . 333 

Governors of Rhode Island, . . • 334 

Deputy-Governors of Rhode Island, . 337 

Members of the Continental Congress, . 339 

Towns, date of incorporation, &c., . 340 

Population from 1708 to 1875, . . 345 

State valuation, . . . 348 
The Corliss Engine at the Centennial Exposition, 349 



^S[)ort|i0tortiof|{|)ot)e|0lan5. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONDITION OF AFFAIRS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY AND PLY- 
MOUTH COLONIES. — ARRIVAL AND BANISHMENT OF ROGER 
WILLIAMS. 

The nations of antiquity, unable to discover 
tlieir real origin, found a secret gratification in 
tracing it to the Gods. Thus a religious senti- 
ment was connected with the foundation of states, 
and the building of the city walls was consecrated 
by religious rites. The Christian middle ages 
preserved the spirit of Pagan antiquity, and every 
city celebrated with solemn rites the day of its 
patron saint. The colonies, which, in the natural 
progress of their development, became the United 
States of America, traced their history, by authen- 
tic documents, to the first Christian cultivators of 
the soil ; and in New England the religious idea, 
lay at the root of their foundation and develop- 
ment. In Plymouth it took the form of separat- 
ism, or a simple severance from the Church of 
England. In Massachusetts Bay it aimed at the 
establishment of a theocracy, and the enforcement 
of a rigorous uniformity of creed and discipline. 



2 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

From the resistance to this uniformity came 
Rhode Island and the doctrine of soul liberty. 

On the 5th of February, 1631, the ship Lyon, 
with twenty passengers and a large cargo of pro- 
pulsions, came to anchor in Nantaskett roads. On 
the 8th she reached Boston, and the 9th, which 
had been set apart as a day of fasting and prayer 
for the little Colony, sorely stricken by famine, 
was made a day of thanksgiving and praise for its 
\ sudden deliverance. Among those who, on that 
day, first united their prayers with the prayers of 
the elder colonists, was the young colonist, Roger 

illiams. 

Little is known of the early history of Roger 
Williams, except that he was bor n in Wale s, 
about -IfiOG ; attracted, early in life, the attention 
of Sir Edward Coke by his skill in taking down 
in short hand, sermons, and speeches in the Star 
Chamber ; was sent by the great lawyer to Sutton 
Hospital, now known as the Charter House, with 
its fresh memories of Coleridge and Charles Lamb ; 
went thence in the regular time to Oxford ; took 
orders in the Church of England, and finally em- 
braced the doctrine of the Puritans. Besides Latin 
and Greek, which formed the principal objects of 
an University course, he acquired a competent 
knowledge of Hebrew and several moderii lan- 
guages, for the study of which he seemed to have 
had a peculiar facility. His industry and attain- 
ments soon won him a high place in the esteem of 
his religious brethren, and although described by 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 3 

one who knew him as "passionate and precipi- 
tate," he gained and preserved the respect of some 
of the most eminent among his theological oppo- 
nents. The key^f D his lift ; nia^ "^e lonnd hi th"fe 
simplej^t .that he possessed™an_acti^e_and pro- 
gressiYe_jxiindJji,^an_iLge--'Whereiii - thought in- 
stantly became profession, and profession passed 
promptly into action. 

When this— ^^^^odly^ -and— zealous young min- 
ister --4an^:edr in ^Boston, he found the territory 
which has long been known as Massachusetts in 
the possession of two distinct colonies, the Colony 
of Plymouth, founded in 1620, by the followers 
of John Robinson, of Leyden, and known as the 
colony of separatists, or men who had separated 
from, the Church of England, but were willing to 
grant to others the same freedom of opinion 
which they claimed for themselves ; and the Col- 
ony of Massachusetts Bay, founded ten years- 
later by a band of intelligent Puritans, many of 
them men of position and fortune, who, alarmed 
by the variety of new opinions and doctrines 
vvdiich seemed to menace a total subversion of 
wlTja^they reg-afded as religion, had resolved to 
establish a new dwelling place in a new world, 
with the Old and New Testament for statute 
book and constitution. Building upo n thi s joun- 
dation the clergy natura lly b ecajii£L_iheir- guides 
and counselors in all things, and the control of 
the law, which was but another name for the con- 
trol of the Bible, extended to all the acts of life. 



\ 

4 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

penetrating to tlie^oniestic fireside, and holding 
every member of the community to a rigid ac- 
countability for speech as well as action. Ask- 
ing for no exemption from the rigorous applica- 
tion of Bible precept for themselves, they granted 
none to others, and looked upon the advocate of 
any interpretation but theirs as a rebel to God 
and an enemy to their peace. 

It was to this iron-bound colony that Roger 
Williams brought his restless, vigorous and fear- 
less spirit. Disagreements soon arose and sus- 
picions were awakened. He claimed a freedom 
of speech irreconcilable witli the fundamental 
principles of their government ; and they a power 
over opinion irreconcilable with freedom of 
thought. Neither of them could look upon his 
own position from the other' s point of view. Both 
were equally sincere. And much as we may now 
condemn the treatment which Williams received 
at the hands of the colonial government of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, its charter and its religious tenets 
justified it in treating him as an intruder. 

The first public expression of the hostility he 
was to encounter came from the magistrates of 
Boston within two months after his arrival, and, 
on the very day on which the church of Salem 
had installed him as assistant to their aged pastor, 
Mr. Skelton. The magistrates were a powerful 
body, and before autumn he found his situation 
so uncomfortable that he removed to Plymouth, 
where the rights of individual opinion were held 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 5 

in respect, if not fully acknowledged. Here, 
while assiduously engaged in the functions of his 
holy office, he was brought into direct contact 
with several of the most powerful chiefs of the 
neighboring tribes of Indians, and among them 
of Massasoit and Miantonomi, who were to exer- 
cise so controlling an influence over his fortunes. 
His fervent spirit caught eagerly at the prospect 
of bringing them under Christian influences, and 
his natural taste for the study of languages served 
to lighten the labor of preparation. "God was 
pleased," he wrote many years afterwards, "to 
give me a painful, patient spirit to lodge with 
them in their filthy holes, even while I lived at 
Plymouth and Salem, to gain their tongue ; my 
soul's desire was to do the natives good." 

This was apparently the calmest period of his 
stormy career. It was at Plymouth that his first 
child, a daughter, w^as born. But although he 
soon made many friends, and had the satisfaction 
of knowing that his labors were successful, his 
thoughts still turned towards Salem, and, receiv- 
ing an invitation to resume his place as assistant 
of Mr. Skelton, whose health was on the wane, 
he returned thither after an absence of two years. 
Some of the members of his church had become 
so attached to him that they followed him to the 
sister colony. 

And now came suspicions which quickly rip- 
ened into controversies, and before another two 
years were over led to what he regarded as 



6 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

persecution, but what the rulers of the Bay Colony 
held to be the fulfillment of the obligation which 
they had assumed in adopting the whole Bible 
as their rule of life. In 1635 he was banished 
from the colony by a solemn sentence of the Gen- 
eral Court, for teaching : 

"1st. That w^e have not our land by Pattent 
from the King, but that the natives are the true 
owners of it, and that we ought to repent of such 
receiving it by Pattent. 

2d. That it is not lawful to call a wicked per- 
son to swear, to pray, as being actions of God's 
worship. 

3d. That it is not lawful to heare any of the 
Ministers of the Parish Assemblies in England. 

4th. That the civil magistrates power extends 
only to the Bodies and Goods and outward state 
of man." 

For us who read these charges with the light 
of two more centuries of progi^ess upon them, it 
seems strange that neither the General Court nor 
Williams himself should have perceived that the 
only one wherein civilization was interested was 
that to which they have assigned the least con- 
spicuous place. 



OHAPTEE II. 

SUFFERINGS OF ROGER WILLIAMS IN THE WILDERNESS.— 
FOUNDS A SETTLEMENT ON THE SEEKONK RIVER.— IS AD- 
VISED TO DEPART. — SEEKS OUT A NEW PLACE. WHICH HE 
CALLS PROVIDENCE. 

When the sentence of banishment was first 
pronounced against the future founder of Rhode 
Island, his liealtli was so feeble that it w^as re- 
solved to suspend the execution of it till spring. 
This, liowever, was soon found to be impractica- 
ble, for the affection and confidence w^hich he had 
inspired presently found open expression, and 
friends began to gather around him in his own 
house to listen to his teacliing. Lack of energy 
was not a defect of the government of the Colony 
of Massachusetts Bay, and learning that rumors 
of a new colony to be founded on Narragansett 
Bay were already alloat, it resolved to send 
the supposed leader of the unwelcome enterprise 
back to England. A warrant, therefore, w^as 
given to Captain Underhill, a man of doubtful 
character in the employment of the Colony, with 
orders to proceed directly to Salem, put the of- 
fender on board his pinnace, and convey him to 
a ship that lay in Boston harbor ready to sail 
for England with the first fair wind. When the 



8 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

pinnace reached Salem, he found only the wife 
and infant children of the banished man, and a 
people deeply grieved for the loss of their pastor. 
Williams was gone, and whither no one could say. 

And whither, indeed, could he go ? The thin 
and scattered settlements of the northern colonies 
were bounded seaward by a tempestuous ocean, 
and inland by a thick belt of primeval forest, 
whose depths civilized man had never penetrated. 
If he escaped the wild beasts that prowled in 
their recesses, could he hope to escape the wilder 
savage, who claimed the forest for his hunting 
grounds? "I was sorely tossed," Williams 
writes in after years, ' ' for fourteen weeks in a 
bitter winter-season, not knowing what bread or 
bed did mean." The brave man's earnest mind 
bore up the frail and suffering body. 

And now he began to reap the fruit of his kind 
treatment of the natives, and the pains which he 
had taken to learn their language. ' ' These 
ravens fed me in the wilderness," he wrote, with 
a touching application of Scripture narrative. 
They gave him the shelter of their squalid wig- 
wams, and shared with iiim their winter store. 
The great chief Massasoit opened his door to him, 
and, when spring came, gave him a tract of land on 
the Seekonk River, where he "pitched and began 
to build and plant." Here he was soon joined by 
some friends from Salem, who had resolved to 
cast in their lot with his. But the seed which 
they planted had already begun to send up its 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 9 

early slioots, when a letter from his "ancient 
friend, the Governor of Plymouth," came, to 
"lovingly advise him" that he was "fallen into 
the edge of their bounds ; " that they were "loth 
to displease the Bay," and that if he would 
"remove but to the other side of the water," he 
would have "the country before [liim] and 
might be as free as themselves," and they 
"should be loving neighbors together." Wil- 
liams accepted the friendly counsel, and, taking 
five companions with him, set out in a canoe to 
follow the downward course of the Seekonk and 
find a spot whereon he might plant and build in 
safety. As the little boat came under the shade 
of the western bank of the pleasant stream, a 
small party of Indians was seen watching them 
from a large flat rock that rose a few feet above 
the water's edge. "Wha-cheer, netop? — Wha- 
cheer ? — how are you, friend ? ' ' they cried ; and 
Williams accepting the friendly salutation as a 
favorable omen, turned the prow of his canoe to 
the shore. Tradition calls the spot where he 
landed. Slate Rock, and the name of Wha-cheer 
square has been given in advance to the land 
around it. What was said or done at that first 
interview has not been recorded, but the part- 
ing was as friendly as the meeting, and Williams 
resuming his course, soon found himself at the 
junction of the Seekonk and Mooshausick. Two 
points mark the intermingling of the two streams, 
and in those days the waters must have spread 



10 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

their broad bosom like a lake, and gleamed and 
danced within their fringe of primeval forest. 
Williams, following, perhaps, the counsel of the 
Indians, turned northward and held his way 
between the narrowing banks of the Mooshausick, 
till he espied, at the foot of a hill which rose 
shaggy with trees and precipitate from its eastern 
shore, the flash and sparkling of a spring. Here 
he landed, and, recalling his trials and the mighty 
hand that had sustained him through them all, 
called the place Providence. 



CHAPTEE III. 

WILI.IAMS OBTAINS A GKANT OF LAND AND FOUNDS A COLONY. 
—FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONY. — WILLIAMS GOES 
TO ENGLAND TO OBTAIN A ROYAL CHARTER. 

The territoiy whicli now forms the State of 
Rhode Island, with the exception of Bristol 
County, in which lay Mount Hope, the seat of 
Massasoit, chief of the Wamponoags, was held 
by the Narragansetts, a tribe skilled in the Indian 
art of making wampum, the Indian money, and 
the art common to most barbarous nations of 
making rude vessels in clay and stone. They 
had once been very powerful, and could still 
bring four or live thousand braves to the war- 
path. Their language was substantially the same 
with that of the other New England tribes, and 
was understood by the natives of New York, 
New Jersey and Delaware. With this language 
Roger Williams had early made himself familiar. 

It was labor well bestowed, and he was to reap 
the reward of it m his day of tribulation. The 
chiefs of the Narragansetts when he came among 
them were Canonicus, an "old prince, most 
shy of the English to his latest breath," and 
his nephew, Miantonomi. Their usual residence 
was on the beautiful Island of Conanicut ; and 



12 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

wlien Williams first came he found them at fend 
with his other friend, Ossamegnin, or Massasoit, 
Sachem of the Wamponoags. His first care was 
to reconcile these chiefs, ^'traveling between 
them three to pacify, to satisfy all these and their 
dependent spirits of (his) honest intention to live 
peaceably by them." The well founded distrust 
of the English which Canonicus cherished to the 
end of his life did not extend to Williams, to 
whom he made a grant of land between the Moos- 
hausick and the Wanasquatucket ; confirming it 
two years later by a deed bearing the marks of 
the two Narragansett chiefs. This land Wil- 
liams divided with twelve of his companions, 
reserving for them and himself the right of ex- 
tending the grant "to such others as the major 
part of us shall admit to the same fellowship of 
vote with us.'- It was a broad foundation, and 
he soon found himself in the midst of a fiourish- 
ing colony. 

The proprietors, dividing their lands into two 
parts, "the grand purchase of Providence," and 
the "Pawtuxet purchase," made an assignment of 
lots to other colonists, and entered resolutely 
upon the task of bringing the soil under cultiva- 
tion. The possession of property naturally leads 
to the making of laws, and the new colonists had 
not been together long before they felt the want 
of a government. The form which it first 
assumed amongst them was that of a democratic 
municipality, wherein the "masters of families 



?j 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 13 

incorporated themselves into a town, and trans- 
acted their public business in town meeting. The 
colonists of Plymouth had formed their social 
compact in the cabin of the Mayliower. The' 
colonists of Providence formed theirs on the banks 
of the Mooshausick. '^We, whose names are 
hereunder," it reads, "desirous to inhabit in 
the town of Providence, do promise to subject 
ourselves in active or passive obedience to all 
such orders or agreements as shall be made for 
public good for the body, in an orderly way, by 
the major assent of the present inhabitants, mas- 
ters of families, incorporated together into a town 
fellowship, and such others as they shall admit 
unto them only in civil things.]' 

Never before^_siiice--th^e§tabliShmenT of Chris- 
tianity, has the separation of Church from- State 
been definitely marked out by this limitation of 
the authority of the magistrate to civil things ; 
and never, perhaps, in the whole course of his- 
tory, was a fundamental principle so vigorously 
obsGTj&d. Massachusetts looked upon the ex- 
periment wdtli jealousy and distrust, and when 
ignorant or restless men confounded the right of 
individual opinion in religious matters with a 
right of independent action in civil matters, those 
who had condemned Roger Williams to banish- 
ment, eagerly proclaimed that no well ordered 
government could exist in connection with liberty 
of conscience. Many grave discussions were held, 
and many curious questions arose before the 



14 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

distinction between liberty and license became 
thoroughly interwoven with daily life ; but only 
one passage of this singular chapter has been 
preserved, and, as if to leave no doubt concerning 
the spirit which led to its preservation, the nar- 
rator begins with these ominous words : "At 
Providence, also, the Devil was not idle." 

The wife of Joshua Verin was a great admirer 
of Williams's preaching, and claimed the right 
of going to hear him oftener than suited the 
wishes of her husband. Did she, in following 
the dictates of her conscience, which bade her go 
to a meeting which harmonized with her feelings, 
violate the injunction of Scripture which bids 
wives obey their husbands ? Or did he, in exer- 
cising his acknowledged control as a husband, 
trench upon her right of conscience in religious 
concerns ? It was a delicate question ; but after 
long deliberation and many prayers, the claims 
of conscience prevailed, and "it was agreed that 
Joshua Yerin, upon the breach of a covenant for 
restraining of the libertie of conscience, shall be 
withheld from the libertie of voting till he shall 
declare the contrarie" — a sentence from which it 
appears that the right of suffrage was regarded 
as a conceded privilege, not a natural right. 

Questions of jurisdiction also arose. Massa- 
chusetts could not bring herself to look upon her 
sister with a friendly eye, and Plymouth was soon 
to be merged in Massachusetts. It was easy to 
foresee that there would be bickerings and jeal- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 15 

ousies, if not open contention between tliem, 
Still tlie little Colony grew apace. The lirst 
cliurch was founded in 1639. To meet the wants 
of an increased population the government was 
changed, and five disposers or selectmen charged 
with the principal functions of administration, 
subject, however, to the superior authority of 
monthly town meetings ; so earl}^ and so nat- 
urally did municipal institutions take root in Eng- 
lish colonies. A vital point was yet untpuched. 
Williams, indeed, held that the Indians, as orig- 
inal occupants of the soil, were the only legal 
owners of it, and carrying his principle into all 
his dealings with the natives, bought of them 
the land on which he planted his Colony. The 
Plymouth and Massachusetts colonists, also, 
bought their land of the natives, but in their 
intercourse with the whites founded their claim 
upon royal charter. They even went so far as 
to apply for a charter covering all the territory 
of the new Colony. 

Meanwhile two other colonies had been planted 
on the shores of Narragansett Bay : the Colony 
of Aquidnick, on the Island of Rhode Island, and 
the Colony of Warwick. The sense of a common 
danger united them, and, in 1643, they appointed 
Koger Williams their agent to repair to England 
and apply for a royal charter. It has been treas- 
ured up as a bitter memory that he was com- 
pelled to seek a conveyance in New York, for 
Massachusetts would not allow him to pass 



16 HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

tlirougli her territories. His negotiations were 
crowned with full success. In 1644 lie was again 
in the colonies, and the inhabitants of Provi- 
dence, advised of his success, met him at See- 
konk and escorted him across the river with an 
exultant procession of fourteen canoes. 

To defray the expenses of his mission he taught 
Latin, Greek and Hebrew — counting ' ' two sons of 
Parliament men" among his pupils — and read 
Dutch to Milton. 



CHAPTER IT. 

SETTLEMENT OF AQUIDNECK AND WARWICK.— PEQUOT WAR.— 
DEATH OF MIANTONOMI. 

I HAVE said that two other colonies had been 
founded in Rhode Island. Like Providence, 
they both had their origin in religious con- 
troversy. Not long after the return of Roger 
Williams there came to Bostan a woman of high 
and^subtla spirit^ deeply imbued, with the con- 
troversial temper of her age. Her name was 
Anna Hutchinson, and she taught that salvation 
was the fruit of grace, not of works. It is easy 
to conceive how such a doctrine might be per- 
verted by logical interx)retation, and religious 
standing made independent of moral character. 
This was presently done, and Massachusetts, 
true to her theoretic system, banished Anna 
Hutchinson and her followers as she had ban- 
ished Roger Williams. In the autumn of 1637, 
nineteen of these Antinomians, as they were 
called to distinguish them from the legalists or 
adherents of the law, took refuge in Rhode 
Island, where they were kindly welcomed ; and, 
soon after, purchasing the Island of Aquidneck, 
through the intervention of Williams and Sir 
Henry Yane, laid the foundation of a new town 
at Pocasset, near the north end of the Island. 



18 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAT^D. 

Their leaders were William Coddington and John 
Clarke, under whose wise guidance the little Col- 
ony made rapid progress, and soon began another 
settlement at Newport, in the southern part of 
the island. Here, breaking roads, clearing up 
woods, exterminating wolves and foxes, opening 
a trade in lumber, engaging boldly in building 
ships, and above all forming a free and simple 
government, with careful regard to religion and 
education, they soon found themselves in advance 
of their elder sister. Providence. In both col- 
onies the principle of religions liberty formed the 
basis of civil organization. On Rhode Island, 
however, it was confined to Christians — a step 
greatly in advance of the general intelligence of 
the age. But in Providence Roger Williams 
went still further, and, meeting the wants of all 
future ages, proclaimed it the right of every 
human being. 

The other Colony, as if to illustrate the varie- 
ties of human opinion, was founded by Samuel 
Gorton, one of those bold but restless men who 
leave doubtful names in history because few see 
their character from the same point of view. In 
Gorton's religious sentiments there seems to have 
been a large leaven of mysticism, and the writ- 
ings that he has left us are not pleasant reading. 
But the practical danger of his teaching lay in 
his denial of all government not founded upon 
the authority of the King or of Parliament. Mas- 
sachusetts was a legitimate government within 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 19 

her own bounds. But unchartered Rhode Island 
had no legal existence. At Pocasset Gorton 
soon came into collision with the civil authorities 
and was banished. In Providence he presently 
raised such dissensions that Williams almost lost 
heart, and began to think seriously of withdraw- 
ing to his little Island of Patience, in Narragan- 
sett Bay. At last Gorton with eleven compan- 
ions bought Shawomet of its Indian owners and 
established himself there. This brought him into 
open hostility with Massachusetts, which having 
already cast longing eyes upon the commercial 
advantages of Narragansett Bay, was secretly 
endeavoring to establish a claim to all the land 
on its shores. 

Hostile words were soon followed by hostile acts. 
Gorton and his companions were besieged in their 
house by an armed band, compelled to surrender, 
carried by force to Massachusetts, tried for heresy, 
and barely escaping the gibbet, condemned to im- 
prisonment and irons. A reaction soon followed. 
Public sentiment came to their relief. They were 
banished indeed from Massachusetts, but they 
were set at liberty and allowed to return to 
Rhode Island. At Aquidneck they were received 
with the sympathy which generous natures ever 
feel for the victims of persecution, and Gorton 
was raised to an honorable magistracy in the 
very colony wherein he had been openly whipped 
as a disturber of the public peace. It w^as not till 
the claims of Massachusetts had been virtually 



20 HISTORY OE RHODE ISLAND. 

set aside by the charter which Roger Williams 
obtained for his Colony that Gorton returned to 
Shawomet, and set himself to rebuild the Colony 
of Warwick. 

Meanwhile great changes had taken place in 
the relations of the white man to the red. I 
have told how kindly the natives received Roger 
Williams, and how justly he dealt by them. I 
will now tell, though briefly, with what a Chris- 
tian spirit he used the influence over the Indians, 
which his justice had won for him, to protect the 
white men who had driven him from amongst 
them. On the western border of the territory of 
the Massachusetts dwelt the tierce and powerful 
Pequots. No Indian had ever hated the whites 
with a hatred more intense than they, or watched 
the growth of the white settlements with a truer 
perception of the danger with which they menaced 
the original owners of the soil. They resolved 
upon war, and to make their triumph sure, re- 
solved also to win over the Narragansetts as 
active allies. Tidings of the danger soon reached 
the Bay Colony, and Governor Yane appealed to 
Roger Williams to interpose and prevent the 
fatal alliance. Not a moment was to be lost. 
The Pequot embassadors were already in confer- 
ence with Canonicus and Miantonomi on Conan- 
icut. Forgetting his personal wrongs, and barely 
taking time to tell his wife whither he was going, 
he set forth alone in his canoe, ''^-cutting through 
a stormy wind and great seas, every minute in 
hazard of life." 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 21 

Greater hazard awaited him on shore. English 
blood had already been shed by the Pequots, 
and knowing their fierce nature, he "nightly 
looked for their bloody knives at his own throat 
also." For three days and three nights he con- 
fronted them face to face, and so great was the 
control which he had gained over the Narragan- 
sett chiefs that he succeeded in "breaking in 
pieces the Pequot negotiation and design, and 
made and finished by many travels and charges 
the English league with the Narragansetts and 
Mohegans against the Pequots." The war came. 
The ISTarragansetts were on the side of the Eng- 
lish ; fearful massacres were committed ; the 
Pequots were rooted out from their native soil 
forever ; Massachusetts was saved ; but the Chris- 
tian, forgetting of injuries wherewith Williams 
had come to her aid in the critical moment of her 
fortunes, was not deemed of sufficient virtue to 
wash out the stain of heresy, and the sentence of 
banishment was left unrepealed on the darker 
page of her colonial records. 

The Pequots were crushed. The turn of the 
Narragansetts came next. It was the fate of the 
red man to everywhere give way as a civiliza- 
tion irreconcilable with his habits and his beliefs 
advanced, and it is for the good of humanity that 
it is so. But it is sad to remember that the Chris- 
tian, with the Bible in his hand, should have 
sought his examples in the stern denunciations 
of the Old Testament, rather than in the injunc- 



22 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

tions to love and mercy of the New. Six years 
after the formation of the league against the 
Pequots, a war broke out between Sequasson, ^an 
ally of Miantonomi and the Mohegans. The 
Narragansett Sachem, trusting to the good faith 
of his adversary, the powerful Uncas, was be- 
trayed in a conference, and his followers, taken 
by surprise in open violation of the laws of even 
Indian warfare, were put to flight. The unfortu- 
nate chief fell into the hands of his enemy, who, 
fearing the English too much to put an ally of 
theirs to death, referred the question of his fate 
to the Commissioners of the United Colonies — 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New 
Haven — who were about to hold a conference in 
Boston. Rhode Island, which had been excluded 
from the league, had no voice in this outrage, 
and Williams, whose remonstrances might have 
been of some avail, was in England. To give 
greater solemnity to their deliberations the Com- 
missioners called to their aid "five of the most 
judicious elders," and by their united voices 
Miantonomi was condemned to die. The execu- 
tion of the sentence was entrusted to Uncas, and 
the only condition attached to the shameful act 
was that the generous friend of the white man 
should not be tortured. His people never recov- 
ered from the blow. In the very next year they 
placed themselves by a solemn resolution under 
the protection of the King, and appointed four 
commissioners, one of whom was Gorton, to 
carry their submission to England. 



OHAPTEE Y. 

CHARTER GRANTED TO PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.— ORGAN- 
IZATION UNDER IT. — THE LAWS ADOPTED. 

We have seen that in 1643 Roger Williams 
had been sent to England as agent to solicit a 
charter for the three colonies of Narragansett Bay. 
He fonnd the King at open war with the Parlia- 
ment, and the administration of the colonies en- 
trusted to the Earl of Warwick and a joint com- 
mittee of the two Houses. Of the details of the 
negotiation little is known, but on the 14th of 
March of the following year, a ' ' free and abso- 
lute charter was granted as the Incorporation 
of Providence Plantations in IN'arragansett Bay 
in New England." It was not such as Charles 
would have given. But one fetter was placed 
upon the free action of the people — "that the 
law^s, constitutions, punishments for the civil 
government of the said plantation be conform- 
able to the laws of England" — and that was 
made pow^erless by the qualifying condition that 
the conformity should extend only "so far as 
the nature and constitution of that place will 
admit." Civil government and civil laws were 
the only government and laws w^hich it recog- 
nized ; and the absence of any allusion to relig- 
ious freedom in it shows how hrmly and wisely 
Williams avoided every form of expression which 



24 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

might seem to recognize tlie power to grant or to 
deny that inalienable right. The regulation of 
the "general government" in its "relation to 
the rest of the plantations in America," was re- 
served "to the Earl and Commissioners." 

Yet more than three years were allowed to pass 
before it went into full force as a bond of union 
for the four towns. Then, in May, 1647, the cor- 
porators met at Portsmouth in General Court of 
Election, and, accepting the charter, proceeded to 
organize a government in harmony with its pro- 
visions. Warwick, although not named in the 
charter, was admitted to the same privileges with 
her larger and more flourishing sisters. 

This new government was in reality a govern- 
ment of the people, to whose final decision in 
their General Assembly all questions were sub- 
mitted. "And now," says the preamble to the 
code, "sith our charter gives us powere to gov- 
erne ourselves and such other as come among us, 
and by such a forme of Civill Government as by 
the voluntairie consent, &c., shall be found most 
suitable to our estate and condition : 

"It is agreed by this present Assembly thus 
incorporate and by this present act declared, that 
the form of Government established in Providence 
Plantations, is Democratical ; that is to say, a 
Government held by y« free and voluntairie con- 
sent of all or the greater part of the free Inhab- 
itants." 

In accordance with this fundamental principle 
all laws were first discussed in Town Meeting, 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 25 

then submitted to the General Court, a committee 
of six men from each town freely chosen, and 
finally referred to the General Assembly. The 
General Court possessed, also, the power of orig- 
inating laws, by recommending a draft of law to 
the towns, upon whose approval the draft ob- 
tained the force of law till the next meeting of 
the General Assembly. 

The first act of this first Colonial Assembly 
was to organize by electing John Coggeshall 
Moderator, and secure an acting quorum by fixing 
it at forty. It was next " agreed that all should 
set their hands to an engagement to the Charter." 
Then, after some provision for the union of the 
towns, the formation of the General Court and 
the adoption of the laws ' ' as they are contracted 
in the bulk," Mr. John Coggeshall was chosen 
''President of this Province or Colonic; Wm. 
Dyer, General Recorder ; Mr. Jeremy Clarke, 
Treasurer, and Mr. Roger Williams, Mr. John 
Sanford, Mr. Wm. Coddington and Mr. Randall 
Holden, Assistants for Providence, Portsmouth, 
Newport and Warwick " respectively. Then, en- 
tering boldly upon its independent existence, the 
little Colony — a State in all but the name — pro- 
ceeded to examine the body of laws which had 
been prepared for its acceptance. One of the 
most significant of them, as indicating their com- 
mercial aspirations, was their adoption of the 
laws of Oleron for a maritime code ; and another, 
as illustrating their consciousness of their peril- 
ous position in the midst of savages, still able to 



26 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAIS^D. 

strike sudden blows, though no longer strong 
enough to wage long wars, the revival and exten- 
sion of "the Statute touching Archerie," and 
the enactment of a stringent militia law. The 
laws against parricide, murder, arson, robbery 
and stealing, show that there were men in the 
community who were believed to be capable of 
these crimes. The law against suicide, and still 
more the law against witchcraft, are too much in 
harmony with the general spirit of the age to 
warrant a severe condemnation. The punishment 
provided against drunkenness reads as though it 
were not an infrequent offence. Marriage was 
regarded as a civil contract. The law of debt 
w^as wise and humane, forbidding the sending of 
the debtor to prison, " there," it says with sim- 
plicity and force, ' ' to lie languishing to no man' s 
advantage, unless he refuse to stand to their 
order." The character of the whole code was 
just and benevolent, breathing a gentle spirit of 
practical Christianity and a calm consciousness 
of high destinies. "These," it says, "are the 
laws that concern all men, and these are the Pen- 
alties for the transgression thereof ; which by 
common consent are Ratified and Established 
throughout this whole Colonie ; and otherwise than 
thus what is herein forbidden, all men may walk 
as their consciences persuade them, every one in 
the name of his God." 

By the same Assembly it was ordered, "that 
the seale of the Providence shall be an anchor." 
A free gift, also, of one hundred pounds was 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 27 

made to Roger Williams, '4n regarde to his so 
great travaile, charges, and good endeavors in the 
obtaining of the Charter for this Province." 
This sum was "to be levied ont of the three 
towns ;" and how far the island was in advance 
of the main-land may be seen by the distribntion 
of the levy which assigns fifty pounds to Newport 
and thirty to Portsmouth, while Providence was 
held at twenty. Of Warwick, still poor and 
weak, nothing was asked. 

The spirit of this first legislation may be com- 
prised in four articles : the first of which provides 
for the protection of the citizen against the gov- 
ernment by guaranteeing liberty of property and 
person, and restricting criminal suits to the vio- 
lation of the letter of the law. The second for- 
bids the assumption of ofiice by any who are not 
legally chosen, and the extension of official action 
beyond its prescribed bounds. The third by 
making the charter and acts of the Assembly the 
sources of law, secures the rights of minorities. 
And the fourth, displaying a comprehension of 
the true principles of public service which suc- 
ceeding generations would do well to study, re- 
quired that every citizen should serve when 
chosen to office or pay a fine, and that his service 
should receive an adequate compensation. The 
engagement of state and officer was reciprocal — 
the ofl[icer binding himself to serve the state 
faithfully, and the state to stand by her officers 
in the legitimate exercise of their functions. 



CHAPTER YI. 

FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TROUBLES.— UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT 
AT USURPATION BY CODDINGTON. 

A]S"D now, just as the new Province was enter- 
ing upon that chartered existence wliich was to 
lead to such brilliant results, the wise and peace- 
able Canonicus died, closing in humiliation and 
sorrow a life which had begun in strength and 
hope. He had seen the first foot-prints of the 
stranger ; had aided him in his weakness ; had 
resisted him in his strength ; had lived to see his 
destined successor fall victim to an unholy policy, 
and his people, impoverished and enfeebled, 
vainly strive to avenge the murder on their adver- 
saries ; and thus with a heavy heart he passed 
away from the scene of his early glory and his 
long humiliation. We shall see bye and bye 
the miserable end of the great Narragansetts. 

The new Colony entered upon its career with 
two great problems before it. The first was 
almost solved. An experience of eleven years 
had demonstrated the possibility of soul liberty, 
which had taken a hold upon the hearts of the 
colonists too strong to be shaken. But did it 
leave the needed strength in the civil organization 
to bear "a government held by the free and vol- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 29 

untary consent of all, or the greater part, of tlie 
free inhabitants?" Thns the reconciliation of 
liberty and law formed from tlie beginning the 
fundamental problem of Rhode Island history. 

At first there were great and frequent dissen- 
sions. There were dissensions between Newport 
and Portsmouth. There were still greater dissen- 
sions in Providence. Enemies exulted, foretell- 
ing an early dissolution of the feeble bands which 
held the dangerous Colony together. Friends 
trembled lest their last hope of the reconciliation 
of liberty and law should fail them. But still 
the great work of solution went on, each new 
dissension revealing some new error, or aiding in 
the demonstration of some new truth. It would 
take us far beyond our limits were we to attempt 
to follow up the history of these dissensions in 
detail, even if the materials for a full narrative of 
them had been preserved. There were other diffi- 
culties, also, which demand more than a passing 
allusion. 

Massachusetts had not yet renounced her de- 
signs upon the territories of the heretical Colony. 
A party in Pawtuxet which had put itself under 
the protection of the Bay Colony had opened the 
way for action, and the dispute with Shawomet 
had enlarged it. Gorton was in England in 1647, 
exerting himself to answer the assertions of the 
Massachusetts agent, Winslow. Three years later 
the question became so complicated and the dan- 
ger so imminent that Roger Williams was asked 
to go again to England on behalf of the Colony. 



30 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Meanwhile there were menacing indications of an 
Indian war, and a serious effort was made on the 
part of the Island towns to obtain admission to 
the ISTew England confederation. The applica- 
tion was refused unless on terms equivalent to 
the surrender of all right to independent exist- 
ence. The time for justice and a clear compre- 
hension of the common interest was not yet come. 
Especially strong was Massachusetts' dread of 
the Baptists, who were becoming a powerful body 
in Rhode Island, and three of the prominent 
members of that communion, among whom was 
John Clarke, one of the most illustrious of the 
colonists, were siezed at Lynn — whither they had 
been summoned to give comforfc and counsel to 
an aged brother — cast into prison, lined, and 
one of their number, Obadiah Holmes, cruelly 
scourged with a three-corded whip. 

Another danger menaced the Colony. William 
Coddington, who had been chosen President, but 
had never taken the legal engagement, had gone 
to England, and, as was soon ascertained, with 
the design of applying for a commission as Gov- 
ernor of the Island. For two years he was una- 
ble to obtain a hearing. The new government of 
England was too busy with its own concerns to 
lend an ear to the agent of a distant and humble 
Colony. At last the favorable moment came, 
and, on the 3d of April, 1651, he received a com- 
mission from the Council of State, appointing him 
Governor for life of Rhode Island and Connecti- 
cut. By what representations or misrepresenta- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 31 

lions he obtained the object of liis ambition, 
history does not tell us. A council of six, nom- 
inated by the people and approved by him, were 
to assist him in the government. The charter 
government was apparently dissolved. 

But the men of Providence and Warwick did 
not lose heart. Roger Williams, who had already 
given proof of his diplomatic skill at home by 
his successful negotiations with the native chiefs, 
and in England by obtaining a charter, was still 
with them, and to him all turned their eyes in 
this hour of supreme danger. It was resolved 
that he should repair to England without delay, 
and ask for a confirmation of the charter in the 
name of Providence and Warwick. To provide 
money for the support of his family during his 
absence he sold his trading-house in Narragan- 
sett, and, obtaining a hard- wrung leave to embark 
at Boston, set forth in October, 1651, upon his 
memorable mission. In the same ship went John 
Clarke, as agent for the Island towns, to ask for 
the revocation of Coddington's commission. On 
the success of their application hung the fate of 
the Colony. Meanwhile the Island towns sub- 
mitted silently to Coddington's usurpation, and 
the main-land towns continued to govern them- 
selves by their old laws, and meet and deliberate 
as they had done before in their General Assem- 
bly. 

It was in the midst of these dangers and dis- 
sensions that on the 19th of May, in the session 
of 1652, it was ''enacted and ordered .... that 



32 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAISTD. 

no black mankind or white being forced by cov- 
enant, bond or other wise shall be held to service 
longer than ten years," and that " that man that 
will not let them go free, or shall sell them any 
else where to that end that they may be enslaved 
to others for a longer time, hee or they shall forfeit 
to the Colonie forty ponnds." This was the 
first legislation concerning slavery on this conti- 
nent. If forty pounds should seem a small pen- 
alty, let us remember that the price of a slave 
was but twenty. If it should be objected that 
the act was imperfectly enforced, let us remem- 
ber how honorable a thing it is to have been the 
first to solemnly recognize a great principle. 
Soul liberty had borne her first fruits. 

In the same month of May the embarrassments 
of the Colony were increased by the breaking out 
of a war between England and Holland, Avhich 
interrupted the profitable commerce between 
Rhode Island and the Dutch of Manhattan. But 
welcome tidings came in September, and still 
more welcome in October. Williams and Clarke, 
who went hand in hand in their mission, had 
obtained, first, ]3ermission for the Colony to act 
under the charter until the final decision of the 
controversy, and a few weeks later the revoca- 
tion of Coddington's commission. The charter 
was fully restored. Williams had again proved 
himself a consummate diplomatist, and Clarke 
had proved himself worthy to be his colleague. 
We shall soon see him using his newly acquired 
skill under more difficult circumstances. 



CHAPTEK Til. 

MOKE FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TROUBLES. — CIVIL AND 
CRIMINAL REGULATIONS OF THE COLONY.— ARRIVAL OF 
QUAKERS. 

Ai^D now it seemed as thougli the little Colony 
might peaceably return to its original organiza- 
tion and devote itself to the development of its 
natural resources. But the spirit of dissension 
had struck deep. The absolute independence 
which was claimed for religious opinion, led 
some to claim an equal independence for civil 
action. If conscience was to be the supreme test 
in the relations between man and God, why 
should not conscience decide between man and 
man ? Roger Williams addressed a letter full of 
calm wisdom to the Town of Providence, explain- 
ing, under the figure of a ship, the distinction 
between civil obedience and soul liberty. A few 
years later an able advocate of the opposite 
opinion was found in William Harris ; and for a 
long while an unhealthy agitation pervaded the 
community, justifying, in appearance, the un- 
friendly prophecies of the early enemies of Wil- 
liams and his doctrines. 

There was still another ground of contention. 
Who should take the lead in restoring the 
3 



34 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

charter government ? The Island towns claimed 
it on the ground of superior wealth and popula- 
tion, the main-land towns because they had 
always held fast to their charter. There were 
double elections and two Assemblies, and the 
dispute grew so warm as to threaten a permanent 
division. At the same time the Island towns en- 
tered zealously into the Dutch war, issuing let- 
ters of marque and making captures which led 
to new controversies with the United Colonies. 
Williams became alarmed, and leaving Mr. Clarke 
in charge of their common business hurried back 
from England to meet the danger. Sir Henry 
Yane, who had already been a firm friend of 
Khode Island, wrote in a public letter, "Are 
there no wise men among you^ no public, self- 
denying spirits who can find some way of union 
before you become a prey to your enemies? " 

At last, in August, 1654, a full Court of Commis- 
sioners met at Warwick, and on the 31st set their 
hands to articles of reunion. To meet the diffi- 
culties that arose from the different acts of inde- 
pendent assemblies, it was agreed that all such 
acts should be held good for tlie towns and per- 
sons who originally took part in them. Then the 
charter was once more made the fundamental law 
of the land, and finally the General Assembly 
recognized by fixing the number of delegates 
from each town at six for all purposes except 
the election of officers. Two days were then 
devoted to general legislation, and am one: other 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 35 

acts the delicate question of a Sunday law was 
reconciled with the distinguishing principle of 
the Colony, by referring the matter to the several 
towns under the head of a day ' ' for servants and 
children to recreate themselves." 

As the danger of civil commotions passed away, 
came the danger of an Indian war. The Narra- 
gansetts had old quarrels Avith the Indians of 
Long Island, and in 1654 a new quarrel broke 
out between them. For the Colony itself there 
was nothing to fear from the ISTarragansetts with 
whom it had always maintained friendly rela- 
tions. But should the Long Island Indians pre- 
vail, an inroad upon the main would bring them 
dangerously near to the new towns. The United 
Colonies, proceeding as usual vfith a high hand, 
summoned jN'inigret, the chief sachem of the 
Narragansetts, to Hartford. He refused to go, 
saying that the enemy had slain a sachem' s son 
and sixty of his people — all he asked of the Eng- 
lish was that they would let him alone. "If 
your Governor's son were slain," he said, "and 
several other men, would you ask counsel of 
another nation how and when to right your- 
selves?" The spirit of the Narragan setts was 
not yet broken. Williams, who was then Presi- 
dent, wrote to the government of Massachusetts 
defending the Indians, asserting that the war was 
a war of self-defence, and that the N'arragansetts 
had always been true to the English. But the 
Commissioners were resolved upon war, and with- 



36 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

out listening to his remonstrances sent Captain 
Willard with a body of troops to seize the re- 
fractory chief. The wily Indian took post in a 
swamp where the troops were unable to reach 
him. The Commissioners were sorely annoyed, 
but Massachusetts, listening, perhaps, to the en- 
ergetic representations of Williams, refused to 
sanction the war, and without her cooperation it 
could not be carried on. 

There were still dissensions and jars, but the 
Colony throve and grew in industry and strength. 
Newport above all increased in wealth and popu- 
lation. In estimating the population, however, 
we must bear in mind that not every inhabitant 
was a freeman, nor every resident a legal inhab- 
itant. A probationary residence was required 
before the second step was reached and the resi- 
dent became an inhabitant with certain rights to 
the common lands, the right of sitting on the 
jury and of being chosen to some of the lower 
offices. This, also, was a period of probation, 
and it was only after it had been passed to the 
satisfaction of the freemen that the name of the 
new candidate could be proposed in town meet- 
ing for full citizenship. Even then he had to 
wait for a second meeting before he could be 
admitted to all the rights and distinctions of that 
honorable grade. 

As a picture of the times it deserves notice that 
there was still a struggle with crime which called 
for stocks and a jail ; that the sale of liquors was 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 37 

regulated by a license, and the number of taverns 
that could be licensed in a single town limited to 
three ; that the bars were closed at nine in the 
evening ; that a fine of ten pounds or whipping, 
"accordinge as y® court shall see nieete," was the 
penalty of giving a blow in court ; that malicious 
language was treated as slander and made ground 
for legal prosecution. The Assembly seldom sat 
beyond three or four days, and six in the morn- 
ing was the usual hour of entering upon the 
business of the day. Absence from roll call was 
punished by a fine of a shilling. As an illustra- 
tion of the degree in which the idea of the duties 
of citizenship prevailed over the idea of the dig- 
nity of office, it deserves to be recorded that when 
the first justices' court was established in Provi- 
dence for the hearing of cases under forty shil- 
lings, Roger Williams though President of the 
Colony was appointed one of the justices, and of 
the other two Thomas Olney was assistant for 
Providence, and Thomas Harris a member of the 
Assembly. The principle of the reciprocal obliga- 
tion of citizen and state seems, as we have already 
observed, to have found early acceptance. High 
treason was recognized as a great crime and pro- 
vision made for sending the accused to England for 
trial — a dangerous measure even in that early day, 
and which in the following century became a just 
ground of alarm. But now, even Coddington 
not only came off unharmed from his daring 
usurpation, but appears again in 1656 as member 



38 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

of the Court of Trials. A written submission and 
a fine for refusing to give up the public records 
were the only penalties that he paid for his 
offence. Early provision was made for the pro- 
tection of marriage, and to give it that publicity 
which is essential to security the bans were an- 
nounced in town meeting, or at the head of a 
company on training days, or by a written declara- 
tion signed by a magistrate and set up in some 
place of common resort. If objections were made 
the parties w^ere heard by a tribunal of two 
magistrates, or for final decision by the Court of 
Trials. Freedom in the young society was always 
connected with morality. 

There were still questions to arrange with Mas- 
sachusetts, which had not yet given up the hope 
of enlarging her territory at the expense of 
her diminutive neighbors. The Pawtuxet con- 
troversy which began almost with the beginning 
of the Colony, was a fruitful source of anxiety 
till 1658, when it was finally settled by the 
acknowledgment of the claims of Rhode Island, 
Roger Williams again appearing in his favorite 
character of mediator. Hog Island, at the mouth 
of Bristol harbor, gave rise to other disputes 
which extended through several years. In the 
original purchase of Aquidneck the grass only 
had been bought. To secure the fee of the land 
itself a second purchase was required. Other 
purchases also were made, which gave rise to 
long and vexatious disputes. Small as it was, it 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 39 

was almost inch by incli that Rhode Island won 
its narrow territory. 

From time to time, also, there were alarms of 
Indians. In 1656 their movements excited so 
much apprehension in Providence, that a fort 
was built on Stamper's Hill for the protection of 
the town. In this same year the fundamental 
principles of the governments of Rhode Island 
and of Massachusetts were brought into striking 
contrast by the arrival of the Quakers. In Massa- 
chusetts they were imprisoned, scourged, muti- 
lated, put to death, and with the increase of 
persecution increased in numbers. In Rhode 
Island they were allowed to follow their own con- 
victions and became useful and industrious citi- 
zens. And when the United Colonies urged the 
General Assembly, not without threats, to join in 
the persecution, it appealed to Cromwell, asking 
"that it might not be compelled to exercise any 
civil power over men's consciences so long as 
human orders, in point of civility, are not cor- 
rupted or violated." 

In these days great changes were taking place 
in England. Cromwell was dead. Richard Crom- 
well soon resigned the Protectorate. A general 
reaction for royalty followed, and Charles II. 
was received as King with general satisfaction. 
How would the young and dissolute monarch 
look upon the claims of Rhode Island \ It was 
well for her that at this perilous moment she was 
represented at the new court by so earnest, clear- 



40 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

headed and dexterous a diplomatist as John 
Clarke. By his exertions a new charter was ob- 
tained, and, on the 24th of November, 1663, ac- 
cepted " at a very great meeting and assembly of 
the Colony of Providence Plantations, at New- 
port, in Rhode Island, in New England." With 
the adoption of this charter begins a new period 
in the history of Rhode Island. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TROUBLES IN OBTAINING A NEW CHARTER.— PROVISIONS OF 
THE CHARTER.— DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING THE NARRA- 
GANSETT PURCHASE.— CURRENCY.— SCHOOLS. 

The charter of Charles II. was a practical rec- 
ognition of the riglit of self-government. The 
government which it established, like that insti- 
tuted by the colonists in their first organization, 
was a pure democracy, emanating from the peo- 
ple and framed for their good. In form it con- 
sisted of a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, ten 
assistants, and a House of Deputies, six of whom 
represented Newport, four Providence, four 
Portsmouth, four Warwick, and two each other 
towns. The first appointments of Governor, 
Deputy-Governor, and assistants, as preparatory 
to a permanent organization, were made by the 
King. The organization once effected, they were 
chosen annually at Newport, on the first Wednes- 
day in May. The deputies were elected by the 
people in their respective towns. Thus election 
day became the great civil festival of the year, 
bringing the inhabitants of the towns together to 
interchange thoughts and feelings, and make 
merry with their wives and children in the chief 
town of the Colony. 



42 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

Although the new charter was negotiated by 
John Clarke, it is impossible not to recognize in 
it the spirit of Roger Williams. The original 
right of the natives to the soil was acknowledged, 
practically, in other colonies ; but it was ac- 
knowledged as subordinate to the right of the 
King. The royal grant preceded the actual pur- 
chase. But in Rhode Island the royal grant fol- 
lowed the Indian title-deed, and was never ac- 
cepted as sufficient of itself to justify the occupa- 
tion of Indian territory. This doctrine, so widely 
at variance with the received doctrine of the age, 
stood first in the list of heresies for which Massa- 
chusetts had driven Roger Williams into exile. 

/No less prominent in the second charter was 
that great principle which had formed the lead- 
ing characteristic of the first. "JSToe person," it 
says, "within the sayd colony e, at any tyme 
hereafter, shall be any wise molested, punished, 
disquieted, or called in question, for any dif- 
ference of opinion in matters of religion which 
doe not actually disturb the civill peace of our 
sayd colonye ; but that all and everye person 
may, from tyme to tyme and at all tymes here- 
after, freely e and fully e have and enjoy his and 
their own judgments and consciences, in matters 
of religious concernments, through the tract of 
lande hereafter mentioned, they behaving them- 
selves peaceablie and quietlie, and not using this 
libertye to licentiousness, and profaneness, nor 
to th6^ civill injurye or outward disturbance of 
others.'^ 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAT^D. 43 

There was much work for the new Assembly to 
do, and it addressed itself promptly to the task. 
The statute book contained laws which, arising 
from circumstances no longer existing, were ''in- 
consistent with the present government. ' ' To w^eed 
these out and replace them by others better suited 
to the new order of things, was an early object of 
attention. Hitherto the assistants had not been 
vested with legislative authority. They now held 
it by the charter, and henceforth acted in con- 
junction with the deputies, a change which at a 
later day led to the division into two houses. 
The increase of population brought with it an 
increase of litigation. The original courts were 
not sufficient to meet the demand for legal pro- 
tection. They were reorganized. 

There were two general courts of trials, com- 
posed of the Governor, w^ith or without the aid 
of the Deputy-Governor, and of a body of assist- 
ants whose number was never less than six. 
Their place of meeting was Newport, the seat of 
government and largest town, and their regular 
sessions w^ere held in May and October. Provi- 
dence and Warwick had each a court of trials — 
Providence in September and Warwick in March. 
But in these, as if in indication of their subor- 
dinate authority, neither the Governor nor the 
Deputy-Governer had a seat, and the number of 
assistants absolutely required to give validity to 
its acts was reduced from six to three. To com- 
plete their organization twelve jurors were added, 



44 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

six from each town. Their decision, however, 
was not final, and the cases which they had tried 
could be carried by appeal to the General Court. 
To quicken the tardy steps of justice any litigant 
who was willing to bear the expense, might, 
with the sanction of the Governor or Deputy- 
Governor, have a special court convened for the 
immediate decision of his cause. 

The grand and petty jurors were chosen from 
the four towns, five of each from Newport, three 
from Portsmouth, and two from Providence and 
Warwick respectively. The same superiority was 
accorded to Newport in the apportionment of state 
officers, five of whom were required to live there. 
In this, however. Providence outranks Ports- 
mouth, having three allotted to her for her por- 
tion, while Portsmouth had but two. The duties 
of coroner were performed by the assistant "near- 
est the place occasion shall present." 

Another grave question met them on the thresh- 
old of their work of organization. The charter 
left a doubt concerning the manner of choosing 
the state magistrates. Should they be elected by 
the freemen in town meeting, or by the General 
Assembly? The democratic instinct prevailed, 
and the choice was left to the freemen. 

There was a still graver question to be decided, 
requiring firmness, self-control and skilled diplo- 
macy. Rhode Island had never been looked upon 
by Massachusetts with friendly eyes. That a 
banished man should have become the founder of 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 45 

a new colonX-Close upon her borders was irritat- 
ing to her pride. That his success as a colonizer 
should have cut her off from the beautiful Narra- 
gansett Bay was humiliating to her ambition of 
territorial aggrandizement. Tha^-a-Jjjeedom of 
conscience subversive of her theological dogmas 
should have been the fundamental principle of 
the new government was irritating to her bigotry. 
Thus, although she did not hesitate to avail her- 
self of the good offices of Roger Williams to avert 
a dangerous war, she did not scruple to forbid the 
sale to citizens of Rhode Island of the powder and 
arms which they needed for their own protection, 
and exclude them from the league which the other 
colonies of New England had formed for their 
common defence. When, in 1642, four of the 
principal inhabitants of Pawtuxet factiously put 
themselves under her protection, she greedily 
seized the opportunity of securing for herself a 
foothold in the coveted territory. It was not till 
1658 that this dangerous dispute was settled and 
the perpetual menace of mutilation removed from 
the northern district of the Colony soon to reap- 
pear in the southern. Amid the fresh recollections 
of this contest, the General Assembly passed a law 
forbidding, under the penalty of confiscation, the 
introduction of a foreign authority within the 
limits of the Colony. Both Massachusetts and 
Connecticut laid claim to Narragansett, a valua- 
ble tract in the southern part of the Colony and 
controlling the communication with the bay of 



46 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAIN^D. 

that name. The claim of Rhode Island was 
founded upon purchase, and although her physi- 
cal inferiority left her no hope of success except 
through an appeal to the King, she was none the 
less vigilant in defending her rights. The neces- 
sity of this watchfulness was soon made manifest, 
for scarce a year had passed from the passage of 
the prohibitory law, when, in direct violation of 
its provisions, a company of aliens purchased 
Quidneset and Namcook, two large and valuable 
tracts on Narragansett Bay. It was like throw- 
ing down the gauntlet to the little Colony, for it 
was only by supporting the pretensions of Mas- 
sachusetts or Connecticut that the purchasers 
could hope to make their title good. An artful 
attempt was made to obtain the sanction of Roger 
Williams's name by offering him, under the title 
of interpreter, a liberal grant of land. But the 
loyal old man, refused to connect himself in any 
way with the illegal act, and warned the company 
of the dangerous ground whereon they were 
treading. 

The warning was not heeded, and Humphrey 
Atherton, John Winthrop and their associates, 
completing their bargain with the Indians, claimed 
the tracts as theirs by lawful purchase. New 
complications followed. The very next year the 
Commissioners of the United Colonies, following 
up their aggressive policy towards the Narragan- 
setts, imposed upon the feeble remnant of the once 
powerful tribe a heavy fine for alleged injuries 



HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 47 

to tlie Mohegans, and compelled tliem to mort- 
gage tlieir whole territory for tlie payment of it. 
Atlierton paid the tine, and held that his claim 
was strengthened by this act of unjustifiable vio- 
lence. 

For a time hopes were entertained of inducing 
the company to accept the jurisdiction of Rhode 
Island, but they were futile. The attempt of 
either party to exercise legal authority in the dis- 
puted territory was a signal for the active inter- 
vention of the other. It was soon evident that 
the decision must be referred to England. For- 
tunately for Rhode Island, John Clarke was still 
there. 

Agents from Connecticut, also, were there peti- 
tioning for a new charter, and their petition was en- 
forced by the wise and virtuous John Winthrop. 
Court favor came to his aid, and he used it judi- 
ciously. The venerable Lord Say and Seal lent 
him the influence of his name, and the skillful 
negotiator dexterously reviving the memory of 
the intercourse between his father and Charles the 
First, succeeded in touching for a moment the 
callous heart of Charles II. In the season of that 
intercourse Charles had given Winthrop a curious 
and valuable ring, and now when the son of the 
subject came before the son of the King as a sup- 
pliant for a charter for his distant home, he bore 
that ring in his hand as a record of kind feelings 
on one side and reverential observance on the 
other. The plea was successful, and, on the 



48 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

SOtli of May, 1662, a charter was granted. In 
this charter the eastern boundary of Connecticut 
was extended to Narragansett River, and Narra- 
gansett River it was claimed was Narragansett 
Bay. 

Great was the indignation of Rhode Island 
when tlie tidings of this arbitrary mutilation of 
her territory reached her. It was like introduc- 
ing a foreign jurisdiction into the heart of the 
Colony, and stripping it by a stroke of the pen 
of some of the chief advantages which it had 
promised itself from its long and painful labor of 
colonization. There was but one hope left, and 
that lay in the wisdom and firmness of John 
Clarke. The trust was well placed. Not for a 
moment did the brave man lose heart or suffer 
himself to grow weary in his difficult task. Of 
the details of his negotiations no accurate record 
has been preserved, but we know that, possessing 
no means of corruption, even if his noble nature 
could have stooped to it, he placed his confidence 
in the justice of his cause. In negotiating for a 
charter he had presented two elaborate petitions 
to the King, giving a rapid sketch of the origin 
and principles of the Colony, and asking for "a 
more absolute, ample, and free charter of civill 
incorporation," as for men who "had it much 
on their hearts (if they may be permitted) to hold 
a lively experiment, that a flourishing free state 
may stand, yea, and best be maintained, and that 
among English spirits, with a full liberty in re- 
ligious concernments." 



HISTOKY OF KHODE ISLAND. 49 

The question of a charter was for the King to 
decide, and we have already seen how he decided 
it. But the question of boundaries was within 
the competence of the agents of the two colonies. 
After much discussion it was decided to refer it 
to arbitration. Four arbitrators were chosen, 
and on the 7th of April, 1668, they rendered their 
award in four articles, by one of which the Paw- 
catuck River was made the eastern boundary of 
Connecticut. The Atherton company was left 
free to decide under which of the two jurisdic- 
tions it would live. 

As long as Winthrop remained, although 

Clarke had much to apprehend from his open 

opposition, he had nothing to fear from secret 

intrigues or willful misinterpretation. But not 

all the advocates of the Atherton purchase were 

like John Winthrop. False claims will always 

find base agents, and no sooner was Winthrop 

gone than one of these willing instruments of 

wrong pressed eagerly forward to his loathsome 

ofiice. His name was John Scott, and the record 

of his meanness has been preserved in his own 

hand. "Mr. Winthrop," begins his confidential 

correspondence with . Captain Hutchinson, the 

corresponding agent of the company, "was very 

averse to my prosecuting your afi'airs, he having 

had much trouble with Mr. Clarke whiles he 

remained in England ; but as soon as I received 

intelligence of his departure from the Downes, I 

took into the society a Potent Gentleman and 
4 



50 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAl^D. 

prepared a Petition against Clarke, &c., as 
enemyes to the peace and well being of his 
Majesfcye's good subjects, and doubt not effecting 
the premises in convenient tyme, and in order to 
accomplish y^ businesse, I have bought of Mr. 
Edwards a parcel of curiosityes to y^ value of 
sixty pounds ; to gratifye persons that are pow- 
erfull, that there may be a Letter filled with 
Awthorising Expressions to the Collonyes of the 
Massachusetts and Connecticut, that the propri-. 
etors of the Narraganset countrye, shall not only 
live peaceably, but have satisfaction for Injuryes 
already received by some of the saide Proprietors 
and the power y* shall be soe invested (viz) the 
Massachusetts and Connecticut by virtue of the 
saide letter will joyntlye and severallye, have full 
power to do us justice to all intents, as to our 
J^arraganset concernes." 

For a moment it seemed as though this vile 
intrigue were about to succeed. A letter from the 
King to the United Colonies was obtained, recom- 
mending the interests of the Atherton company 
to their protection. John Scott's "curiosityes" 
had done their work. The "Potent Gentleman" 
had not failed him. Tha little Colony lay un- 
armed at the feet of its powerful enemies. But the 
triumph was short. John Clarke was carefully 
bringing his negotiations for a new charter to a 
close. Surrounded by bitter and unscrupulous 
adversaries he still kept his own counsel, kept 
the object of his mission constantly in view, and, 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 51 

after much weary waiting and watching, came out 
triumphant. The charter of Cliarles the Second, 
as I have ah-eady stated, which so long served 
the Colony as a constitution and exercised such 
a controlling influence upon her development, 
passed the seals on the 8th of July, 1663. By this 
charter the western boundary line was fixed at 
Pawcatuck River, "any Grant or Claim in a late 
Grant to the Governor and Company of Connecti- 
cut Colony in America to the contrary thereof 
in any wise notwithstanding." Thus the Pawca- 
tuck River was henceforth to be held as the same 
with the Narragansett River, and the question of 
western boundary decided in accordance with the 
agreement, which, "after much debate," Clarke 
and Winthrop had both signed in the names of 
their respective colonies. It is evident that there 
was much ignorance, and no very firm principle 
of action with regard to the colonies in the cab- 
inet of the second Charles. 

While these events were passing an important 
change took place in the commercial medium of 
the country. When the colonists first began to 
trade with the natives, they found them already 
advanced in their buyings and sellings from the 
primitive barter of product for product to the 
use of a fixed medium of exchange. This me- 
dium, indeed, was of a purely conventional char- 
acter. There were neither mines of gold, nor 
mines of silver, nor mines of copper to perform 
the office of money. But the waters of their 
rivers and bays yielded an abundant supply of 



52 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

shells, and these they wrought with much in- 
genuity into; beads; the periwinkle furnishing 
the material for the lower values, six of its white 
shells being held at an English penny, while the 
dark eye of the quahog or round clam, smoothed 
by grinding, and polished and drilled, was rated 
at twice the value of the white shell. Both were 
known as wampum or peage. As money belts 
of wampum were counted by the fathom, three 
hundred and sixty of the white passing for five 
shillings sterling, and a fathom of the black 
being worth twice as much as a fathom of the 
white. Like the metallic medium of other coun- 
tries they served also for personal decoration, 
supplying the Indian belles and beaux with their 
necklaces and bracelets, and princes with the 
most valued ornaments of their regalia. When 
used for this purpose they were wrought into 
girdles, or worn as a scarf about the shoulders, 
great pains being taken and not a little skill 
displayed in arranging the colors in various fig- 
ures. The mints in which this primitive money 
was coined were on the sea-shore, where shells were 
found in great abundance, and so well was this 
simple article adapted to the wants and the tastes 
of the aborigines that it passed current six hun- 
dred miles from the coast, and was used by the 
colonists in all their bargains with the natives. 
But shells like metals and paper are subject to 
the same inexorable laws of trade. When beaver 
skins became plenty in the colonial market and 
wampum was made in larger quantities, it fell 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 53 

from ten shillings a fathom to five, and the Indian 
hunter thought it hard that an equal number of 
furs should bring him but half as much wampum 
as before. Like all money, also, wampum was 
liable to be counterfeited, and even in that rude 
commerce there were men who preferred the ill- 
gotten gain of the counterfeiter to the fruit of 
honest industry. Fortunately for the native he 
was quick in detecting the fraud, and never failed 
to exact full compensation. But wampum, like 
the race for whom it was made, was una- 
ble to hold its ground against the advancing civ- 
ilization. We have seen it reduced to half its 
original value by overissues and the increasing 
supply of furs in the colonial market. Gradually 
it began to disappear. Rhode Island continued 
to use it long after it had ceased to be current in 
colonies where the intercourse with Europe was 
more direct. Massachusetts had begun to coin 
silver in 1652, but Rhode Island continued to 
accept wampum as a legal tender for ten years 
longer, when it reached its lowest point, and, like 
the Continental money of a century later, w^as 
abolished by statute. Thenceforth all taxes and 
costs of court were exacted in ''current pay" 
in sterling that is, or in New England coin of 
thirty shillings New England to twenty-two shil- 
lings sixpence sterling. 

Nothing has been said thus far of the measures 
taken by the young Colony for the establishment 
of schools. Newport, though only in the second 
year of her settlement, took the lead in 1640, by 



54 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

''calling Mr. Robert Lentliall to keep a school 
for the learning of youth, and for his encour- 
agement there was granted to him and his heirs 
one hundred acres of land, and four more for a 
house lot." In the same meeting it was voted: 
"That one hundred acres should be laid forth and 
appropriated for a school, for the encouragement 
of the poorer sort, to train up their youth in 
learning, and Mr. Robert Lenthall, while he 
continues to keep school, is to have the benefit 
thereof." The wise example was followed by 
Providence in 1663, and at May town meeting a 
hundred acres of upland and six acres of meadow 
were reserved for the support of a school. 

But in nothing perhaps does the character of 
the Colony appear to more advantage than in the 
law of oaths. "Forasmuch," reads the statute, 
"as the consciences of sundry men, truly con- 
scionable, may scruple the giving or the tak- 
ing of an oath, and it would be no wise suitable 
to the nature and constitution of our place, who 
profess ourselves to be men of different con- 
sciences, and not one willing to force another, to 
debar such as cannot do so, either from bearing 
office among us, or from giving in testimony in a 
case depending ; be it enacted by the authority 
of this present Assembly, that a solemn profes- 
sion or testimony in a court of record, or before 
a judge of record, shall be accounted through- 
out the_whole colony, of as full force as an oath." 
So strong was the hold which the principle of 
soul liberty had taken of the public mind. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TERRITORY OF RHODE ISLAND IS INCREASED BY THE ADDI- 
TION OF BLOCK ISLAND. — DISPUTES BETWEEN BLOCK ISLAND 
AND THE OTHER COLONIES SETTLED BY ROYAL COMMAND. — 
STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE COLONY IN 1667. 

The charter came at a fortunate moment, for 
petition and remonstrance had reached their 
utmost, and it is difficult to see how the little Col- 
ony could have preserved the integrity of its ter- 
ritory much longer against two such powerful 
neighbors but for the intervention of an authority 
that was recognized by all. The services of John 
Clarke must be estimated by the imminence of 
the danger, and his skill by the difficulty of the 
negotiation. Meanwhile the territories of Rhode 
Island were enlarged in another direction. 

Block Island has already been mentioned in 
connection with the Pequot war. In 1658 it was 
granted by Massachusetts, in whose hands the 
war had left it, to Governor John Endicott and 
three others, as a reward for their public services. 
Endicott and his associates sold it to Simon 
Ray and eight associates, who, in 1661, enteied 
upon their work of colonization by liquidating the 
Indian title with a reservation in favor of the 
natives, and setting apart one-sixteenth of the 



56 HISTOKY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

lands for the support of a minister forever. The 
new settlement had not yet reached its third year 
when it passed under the jurisdiction of Rhode 
Island, and, in the May session of the General 
Assembh^ for 1663, was summoned to appear at 
the bar of the house and be regularly received 
into the Colony. At the appointed time three 
messengers presented themselves, bringing the 
submission of the inhabitants to "his Majesty's 
wdll," and a petition of householders for the free- 
dom of the island. Three select men were chosen 
to govern it with power to "call town meetings," 
hear causes under forty shillings, and where a 
greater amount was involved, grant appeals to the 
General Court of Trials, and "issue warrants in 
criminal cases." Their representation in the As- 
sembly was fixed at two, and their attention was 
called to the clause in the charter declaring free- 
dom of conscience. The question of a harbor for 
the encouragement of the fisheries soon attracted 
the attention of the Assembly, and, as early as 
1665, we find John Clarke with the Governor and 
Deputy -Governor examining this important sub- 
ject on the spot. But it was no work for a feeble 
Colony, and it was not till two hundred years later 
and under a rich and powerful national govern- 
ment that it was begun. Meanw^hile the popula- 
tion grew and throve under colonial protection. 
Nine years after its first civil organization Block 
Island was incorporated under the name of 'New 
Shoreham, "as sign," say the petitioners, "of 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 57 

our unity and likeness to many parts of our na- 
tive country." 

The conflict of patents did not end with the 
promulgation of the second charter. Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut still persisted in their 
claims, and Rhode Island in her resistance. For- 
tunately for her the final decision lay with the 
Crown, and, although both of the intruding colo- 
nies made repeated attempts to set up govern- 
ments of their own within the limits of the dis- 
puted territory, they were restrained from per- 
sistent violence by the knowledge that Rhode 
Island claimed and was prepared to exercise 
the right of appeal. An opportunity soon offered 
of making an important step towards decision. 
Four Commissioners — Colonel Richard Nichols, 
Sir Robert Carr, George Cartw^right and Samuel 
Maverick — were ordered to proceed to America, 
reduce the Dutch provinces, and decide all ques- 
tions of appeal, jurisdiction and boundary be- 
tween the colonies. On their arrival in ISTew 
York harbor, where they made the British fleet 
their headquarters, Rhode Island sent a deputa- 
tion of three, with John Clarke at their head, to 
welcome the Royal Commissioners in the name of 
the Colony. 

They set themselves promptly to their work. 
The first question that came up for decision was 
the boundary line between Rhode Island and 
Plymouth. This they were unable to settle, and 
reserved it for reference to the King. Next came 



58 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

the vexed question of Narragansett. The sub- 
mission of the sachems was confirmed, an annual 
tribute of tAvo wolf-skins imposed, and the right 
to make war and sell land reserved to the author- 
ities set over them by the Crown. A new division 
of the territory followed, all of the land west of 
the Bay, the southern half of the present Kent 
County, being set apart as King's Province, under 
the administration of the Governor and Council 
of Rhode Island, as magistrates of King's Prov- 
ince. Last came the bitter Warwick question, 
which had almost led to bloodshed. This was 
decided in favor of Rhode Island, upon the 
ground that no colony had a right to exercise 
jurisdiction beyond its chartered limits. It would 
have been well for the three colonies if the dis- 
pute had ended here. But neither Massachusetts 
nor Connecticut was satisfied. It was hard to 
give up the beautiful Narragansett Bay, "the 
largest," say the Commissioners, "and safest 
port in New England, nearest the sea and fittest 
for trade." 

The Indian was fast disappearing, and some- 
times under circumstances which awaken a nat- 
ural regret that where adverse civilizations met 
so little could be done for the individual. The 
old Sachem Pumham still clung to his home in 
the woodlands of Warwick Neck, encouraged, it 
was believed, by the hope of support from Massa- 
chusetts. John Eliot, the translator of the Bible 
interceded for him. Roger Williams asked for a 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 59 

little delay till the harvest was in. But twenty 
years experience had shown that his residence 
there was incompatible with the peace of the 
Colony. Sir Robert Carr, the Royal Commis- 
sioner, met Eliot's intercession by sending him 
copies of all the papers relating to the question, 
and so far satisfied the scruples of Williams as 
to secure his hearty cooperation in the removal 
of this thorn from the side of the struggling 
Colony. Thirty pounds were paid into the hands 
of the old chief, a large sum for those days of 
general poverty, and he removed forever beyond 
the limits of King's Province. 

The Royal Commissioners on their arrival in 
Rhode Island had laid before the Assembly five 
propositions as "the will and pleasure of the 
King:" 

/'1st. That all householders inhabiting the 
Cc^lony take the oath of allegiance, and that the 
administration of justice be in his Majesty's 
na.me." 

/ This brought up the delicate question of oaths, 
which, recurring from time to time, was gradually 
shaped by successive modifications so as to meet 
the demands of government without infringing 
upon the principle of soul-liberty. 

"2d. That all men of competent estates and 
of civil conversation, who acknowledge and are 
obedient to the civil magistrate, though of differ- 
ent judgments, may be admitted to be freemen 



60 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

and have liberty to cliose and to be chosen, offi- 
cers, both military and civil." 

This was accepted and the mode of admitting 
freemen prescribed. 

"3d. That all men and women of orthodox 
opinion, competent knowledge and civil lives, 
who acknowledge and are obedient to the civil 
magistrate and are not scandalous, may be ad- 
mitted to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
and their children to Baptism, if they desire it, 
either by admitting them into the congregations 
already gathered, or j)ermitting them to gather 
themselves into such congregations where they 
may enjoy the benefit of the Sacraments, and 
that difference of opinion may not break the 
bonds of peace and charity." 

If we interpret the word orthodox according to 
the Rhode Island standard of theological interpre- 
tation, this was already Rhode Island doctrine 
and required no deliberation. 

"4tli. That all laws and expressions in laws 
derogatory to his Majesty, if any such have been 
made in these late and troublesome times, may 
be repealed, altered and taken off the files." 

This, also, was accepted, and a revision of the 
laws ordered for that purpose. 

"5tli. That the Colony be put in such a pos- 
ture of defence that if there should be any inva- 
sion upon this island, or elsewhere in this Colony 
(which God forbid) you might in some measure 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 61 

be in readiness to defend yourselves, or if need 
be to relieve your neighbors, according to the 
power given you by the King in your charter and 
to us in the King's commission and instructions." 

This, also, struck a familiar cord. Provisions 
for self-defence had already been made as circum- 
stances called for them. A new militia law was 
now passed, requiring six trainings a year under 
heavy penalties, and allowing nine shillings a 
year for each enlisted soldier. Every man was to 
keep on hand two pounds of powder and four of 
lead, and each town was required to maintain a 
public magazine. To defray the expenses of these 
magazines JS^ewport was taxed fifty pounds, and 
the other three towns twenty pounds each. 

The Royal Commissioners were well satisfied 
with the conduct of Khode Island, and Rhode 
Island, surrounded by powerful enemies, had 
every reason to be well satisfied with the Com- 
missioners. Still the encroachments and aggres- 
sions of Massachusetts and Connecticut con- 
tinued. As a prospective means of defence 
against them John Clarke was again asked to 
carry the complaints of the suffering Colony to 
England, and John Greene was chosen to accom- 
pany him. In 1672 a new claimant appeared in 
the lists. 

The Council of Plymouth had been lavish of 
its gifts of land, and in its ignorance of Ameri- 
can geography had formed a perplexing map of 
conflicting claims. In one of its grants it had 
given the greater part of Maine, together with 



62 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Nantucket, Martha' s Vineyard, Long Island and 
the adjacent islands, to the Earl of Stirling. 
The Earl of Stirling sold his grant to the Duke 
of York, already proprietor by royal gift of the 
recently conquered province of New Netherlands. 
The term adjacent islands would have included 
Acquidneck and the other islands of Narragan- 
sett Bay. Prudence, one of the pleasantest and 
most valuable of them, had been bought of the 
Indian proprietors by Roger Williams and John 
Winthrop. In the course of time it passed by 
regular sale to John Paine, a Boston merchant, 
who had won the favor of the Duke of York by 
contributing liberally to the rebuilding of Fort 
James, in New York harbor. Grovernor Lovelace, 
the Duke's attorney, felt that such liberalit}^ 
was deserving of a signal reward. Paine was 
already the owner of Prudence. Lovelace re- 
solved to make it a free-manor by the name of 
Toply manor, and confer the governership for 
life on Paine. By a second grant the original 
quit -rent of two barrels of cider and six pairs of 
capons was remitted, and this territory of seven 
miles in length became an untaxed and independ- 
ent government. 

But Rhode Island was an uncongenial soil for 
feudal tenures. Paine was arrested, indicted and 
convicted under the law of 1658 against the in- 
troduction of a foreign jurisdiction, and Pru- 
dence without any formal act of adjustment re- 
turned to its original position as a part of Ports- 
mouth. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 63 

Thus the Rhode Island Colony grew apace. 
From time to time questions of practical govern- 
ment arose, to be worked out and solved by ex- 
perience. It was not easy to make citizens feel 
their duty to the State. More than once the 
Assembly failed in attendance, to the serious 
detriment of the public. Fines were imposed, 
and that some inducement to greater regularity 
might be held out, a small pay of three shillings 
a day, which was soon reduced to two, was 
attached to the function of delegate. To facili- 
tate the expression of opinion voting by proxy 
was permitted, and to secure the election of the 
most acceptable candidate it was enacted, " that 
whereas there may happen a division in the vote 
soe that the greater half may not pitch decidedly 
on one certaine person, yett the person which hath 
the most votes shall be deemed lawfully chosen." 
The laws of the Colony had been the growth of 
circumstances, expressing new wants and repre- 
senting a progressive society. Committees were 
appointed on several occasions to revise and har- 
monize them. On the committee of October, 1664, 
we find Roger Williams and John Clarke. 

The progress of society has established n funda- 
mental distinction between legislative, executive 
and judicial powers, which was not known to 
ancient publicists. The Court of Trials was com- 
posed of members of the Assembly, and thus the 
whole body of law-makers was gradually led to 
exercise judicial authority. 



64 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

The Colony was poor, and the persecutions of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut compelled it to 
incur expenses greatly beyond its means. When 
Roger Williams went on his second mission to 
England he sold part of his estates in order to 
raise the money for his expenses. When John 
Clarke was sent to negotiate the second charter 
he was obliged to burthen his estate with a mort- 
gage. The whole sum due him by the Colony 
was but three hundred and forty-three pounds, 
and 3^et so hard was it to collect the tax by which 
this sum was to be paid that it was not until 
twenty years after his death that the mortgage 
was lifted. 

Internal dissensions and the alarm of foreign 
war troubled the Colony in 1667. Two names 
long prominent in Rhode Island, Harris and 
Fenner, appear at the head of two hostile fac- 
tions in Providence and continue for a while to 
disturb the public peace. England, whose wars 
now found a reecho in the colonies, was again at 
war with France and Holland. Efficient meas- 
ures were taken to put the Colony in a state of 
defence, and thus new burthens were imposed. 
A council of war was organized in each town. 
Ammunition was collected. Officers were com- 
missioned. Cannon were mounted at Newport. 
Cavalry corps were formed in the towns. The 
Governor and Council met in frequent delibera- 
tions. The Indians were disarmed and sent off 
the Island. A line of beacons was established 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 65 

from Wonumytomoni Hill, near Newport, to 
Mooshausick Hill, in Providence. Abundant 
proof was given of the energy and good states- 
manship of the Colony. But the day of real trial 
was not yet come. 

The question of taxation w^as an early cause of 
difficulty. The poorer towns felt themselves 
aggrieved, and often put insuperable obstacles in 
the way of the collector. Even the tax for the 
payment of John Clarke was disputed, and Roger 
Williams drew upon himself a severe condemna- 
tion from Warwick by a letter w^herein he urged 
its payment. At last, in 1672, the Assembly took 
the matter seriously in hand and passed a bill 
declaring, "that whoever opposed by word or 
deed, in town meeting or elsewhere, any rate laid, 
or any other of the acts or orders of the General 
Assembly should be bound over to the Court of 
Trials, or imprisoned till it meet, at the discre- 
tion of the justice, for high contempt and sedition ; 
and if found guilty, should be fined, imprisoned 
or whipped, as the court might adjudge." 

It was not altogether without reason that this 
stringent act was passed, for the aggressions of 
Connecticut and the alarm of an Indian war 
made it necessary to strengthen as far as possi- 
ble the hands of government. But there was a 
danger in this legislative omnipotence which the 
people quickly perceived, and the new Assembly 
of May undid by a comprehensive repeal the 
work of its predecessor of April. 
5 



CHAPTEE X. 



KING PHILIP S WAR. 



T HAVE now reached the story of the longest 
and bloodiest war which the colonists had yet 
waged with the Indian. It is known in colonial 
Iiistory as King Philip's war, and belongs more 
to the histories of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
than to that of Rhode Island, although two of its 
bloodiest battles were fought on Rhode Island soil, 
liike all wars with barbarians it is filled with 
strange mixtures of barbarism and heroism, the 
savage warrior often rising in the pursuit of his 
ideal to a moral grandeur which his civilized an- 
tagonist failed to attain. And although like the 
war with the Pequots it w^as fatal to those who 
began it, it has left one of great names of Indian 
history, and brought into play some of the great- 
est traits of Indian character. 

First and most faithful of the allies of the 
English was Massasoit, Sachem of the Wampo- 
noags. A pestilence too malignant to be controlled 
Iby the medical science of the natives had deci- 
mated his tribe and exposed him to the ambition 
of the Narragan setts, his immediate neighbors, a 
little before th3 arrival of the Pilgrims. Perceiv- 
ing only the present danger, he looked upon the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 67 

advenfc of tlie white man as a means of preserving 
his independence, and eagerly made a covenant 
v^ith him which he faithfully kept to the end of 
his life, (1661). At his death his eldest son, 
Wamsutta, or Alexander as he was called by 
the English, succeeded to his authority, but not 
to the confidence of his allies. Suspicion arose ; 
he was accused of plotting against the colonists, 
and though an independent chief, summoned to 
appear at the General Court at Plymouth. Dis- 
obeying the summons, he was threatened with per- 
sonal violence, and reluctantly yielding set forth 
with his warriors and women, some eighty in all, 
under the escort of a small body of troops com- 
manded b}^ Major Winslow. The indignity was 
too great for the unfortunate chief. Winslow saw 
that he was sinking under fatigue — for the weather 
was very hot — and wounded pride, for wrong 
was hard to bear. "Take my horse," he said, 
touched with compassion. "No!" replied the 
chief with a last touch of pride, "there are no 
horses for my wife and the other women." 
When they reached Winslow' s house, which was 
on the way he sickened, and though allowed to 
turn back, quickly died. Deep was the indigna- 
tion of the Indians at this treatment of their 
sachem, and even some of the colonists felt that 
the}^ had gone too far. 

But there was one among them into whose 
breast the wrong sank deepest, for it called him 
to avenge not only a chief but a brother. That 



68 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

brother was known in colonial history as Philip 
of Pooanoket. The story of Philip has been 
variously told, some looking upon him as a crafty 
savage loving the wiles and cruelty of Indian 
warfare and fighting with no other object than 
immediate success ; others as an Indian patriot 
contending for the independence of his country. 
In either case, if we judge him by the standard 
of his own people, he was a great ruler in peace 
and a valiant leader in war. 

We are told that it was a sore grief to the 
young sachem to see the white man daily taking 
a firmer hold of the soil, and the red man melting 
before him. But how could the march of the in- 
vader be stayed ? The arrow was a feeble weapon 
with which to oppose the firelock, the tomahawk 
even in the strongest hand was no match for the 
sabre. The foresight, judgment, method and 
power of combination of the white man enabled 
him to provide for the future while making wise 
provision for the present. While he was well 
supplied with food, the Indian was starving. 
« While he was warmly clad, the Indian was ex- 
posed almost naked to the rudest blasts of winter. 
Philip saw the danger and resolved to face it. • 

His first step was to secure allies by winning 
over the neighboring tribes. It was a broad field 
for diplomacy, wherein Indian not Christian 
ethics prevailed, and was well suited to his bold 
and wily nature. Yet with all his wiles he could 
not so completely cover his track as not to excite 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISJ.AND. 69 

the suspicions of the English. He was sum- 
moned to Plymouth and closely questioned. But 
the hour for action was not yet come and he suc- 
ceeded in allaying suspicions by giving up his 
arms. 

But treason beset his path. A "praying 
Indian," as the converts of Eliot were called, 
who had lived some years with Philip as secre- 
tary and counselor, betrayed the secret of the 
sachem's preparations. The betrayal cost him 
his life but saved the Colony by compelling 
Philip to begin his outbreak before his prepara- 
tions were completed. It is said that when he 
saw the necessity he cast himself upon the ground 
and wept bitterly. 

But there was no escaping it, and collecting his 
forces he fell upon the settlements with fire and 
sword, and what was still more dreaded, the 
scalping knife and tomahawk. The first to feel 
his fury was the border town of Swanzey, where 
houses and barns were burnt and nine of the 
inhabitants put to death and seven wounded. 
Succor came promptly from Plymouth and Bos- 
ton. The Indians fell back upon Mount Hope, 
Philip's favorite seat. Mutilated corpses and 
burning dwellings marked the track of the pur- 
sued. The pursuer looked round him in vain for 
an enemy. A few dogs prowled round the de- 
serted wigwams, but not an Indian was to be seen. 
And here comes into view one of the boldest 
leaders of the colonists in their wars with the 



70 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

natives, Benjamin Clmrch, of Plymouth, a man 
skilled in all the arts of Indian warfare, and in 
whose ardent nature a sound judgment and self- 
control were combined with intrepidity and enter- 
prise. He pressed close upon the track of the 
enemy, crossed the bay to Aquidneck, and after 
a six hours' fight with a superior force was com- 
pelled to take refuge on board a sloop just as his 
ammunition began to fail. 

The war was fairly begun, and for over a twelve- 
month raged with various fortunes but unabated 
fury. Plymouth and Massachusetts suifered most, 
but it left bloody traces in Rhode Island also. 

For unfortunately for Rhode Island, Philip's 
favorite seat was that beautiful range of hills, 
some twelve miles long, which separates the 
Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay from Narra- 
gansett Bay, thus bringing him within the limits 
of the present Town of Bristol. Tradition still 
points to a rock on the southernmost hill where 
the "noble savage" loved to sit and gaze on the 
waters as they held their way to the Atlantic, 
revolving, perhaps, in his embittered mind, a 
bloody vengeance upon his arrogant foe.. It was 
from Mount Hope that he set forth to strike his 
first blow, and thither that he returned to fall by 
the hand of a traitor. "But a small part of the 
domain of my ancestors is left," he said to his 
friend, John Borden. "lam determined not to 
live till I have no country." 

Part only of the bloody record as I have 



HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 71 

already said belongs to Rhode Island. In the 
modern Town of Tiverton, known in those earlier 
colonial days as Pocasset, there was a swamp — 
seven miles in length — one of those difficult spots 
wherein Indian warriors love to concentrate their 
forces in the hour of danger. Here, amidst intri- 
cate paths and trembling morasses Philip first 
awaited the assault of the enemy. The colonists 
came up bravely to the charge, but were bravely 
repulsed with the loss of sixteen men. Then 
they resolved to take possession of the avenues 
to the swamp and starve the Indians into surren- 
der. But the wily Philip after standing a siege of 
thirteen days made good his escape by night and 
took refuge on the Connecticut River, where he 
was joined by the Nipmucks, a Massachusetts 
tribe which he had won over to his fortunes. 
Surprises, pursuits, gallant stands, fearful mas- 
sacres follow. At Brookfield it is an ambush 
followed by a siege. At Deerfield there was a 
battle in which the Indians were worsted, then 
a second trial of strength in which the town was 
burnt. At Hadley the enemy came while the 
inhabitants were in the meeting-house engaged 
in their devotions. For a while the men, who 
had brought their arms with them and were well 
trained to the use of them, thus held their ground 
firmly. But the surprise had shaken their nerves, 
and they were beginning to cast anxious glances 
around them, when suddenly in their midst ap- 
peared a venerable man clad in the habiliments 



72 HISTORY or RHODE ISLAND. 

of another age and with a sword in his hand. 
With a clear, firm voice he roused the flagging 
courage of the villagers, reformed their ranks and 
led them to the charge. A Roman would have 
taken him for one of the Dioscuri — a Spaniard 
for St. Jago. What wonder that the Hadleyites 
thought him a divine messenger, and if with such 
a proof of God' s favor to inspirit them, they sprang 
forward w^ith dauntless hearts and drove their 
enemy before them. When the victory was won, 
the same clear voice bade them bow their heads 
in prayer, and when they raised them again the 
mysterious speaker was gone. None but the vil- 
lage preacher knew that it was Goff e, the regicide. 
A surprise and massacre have left their name to 
Bloody Brook. Springfield was burned. But at 
Hatfield Philip received a check, and having laid 
waste the western frontier of Massachusetts, 
turned his steps toward the land of the Narra- 
gansetts. For the success of the war depended 
mainly upon the decision of that still powerful 
tribe. In the beginning a doubtful treaty had 
been patched up between them and the English. 
But their hearts were with their own race, and 
when Philip came they resolved to cast in their 
fortunes with his. The colonists prepared them- 
selves sternly for the contest. Fifteen hundred 
men Avere enlisted in Massachusetts, Plymouth 
and Connecticut ; a body of friendly Indians 
joined them, and though it was mid-winter, think- 
ing only of the necessity of striking a decisive 



HISTORY OF KFIODE ISLAND. 73 

blow tliey began their march. Volunteers from 
Rhode Island joined them on the way, but Rhode 
Island as a colony was not consulted. 

The Narragansetts were on their own ground 
and had chosen the strongest point for their win- 
ter quarters. It was an island of between three 
and four acres in the midst of a vast swamp in 
the southwestern part of the State, three or four 
miles from the present village of Kingston. To 
the trees and other natural defences the Indian 
chief had added palisades and such appliances 
as his rude engineering suggested. Here he had 
built his wigwams and stored his provisions, and 
prepared to pass the winter. 

Towards this fated spot at the dawn of a De- 
cember Sabbath the little army of Puritans took 
their way. The snow was falling fast and the 
wind dashed it in their faces, but bated not 
their speed. By one they were in front of the 
stronghold, and though weary with the long 
march and faint with hunger they pressed eagerly 
forward. The only entrance was over the trunk 
of a tree. The Indian guns and arrows covered 
every foot of the way. The colonists undaunted 
rushed on — officers in the van. First to feel the 
murderous Indian aim was Captain Johnson, of 
Koxbury. Captain Davenport, of Boston, fell 
next, but before he fell penetrated the enclosure. 
More than two hours the battle raged with una- 
bated fury. At one time the English made their 
way into the fort, but the Indians rallied and 



74 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

forced them back again. But over-confident in 
tlie natural strength of their fortress they had neg- 
lected to secure with palisades a strip which they 
had thought sufficiently guarded by a sheet of 
water. The English discovered it, and crossing 
took the astonished natives in the rear. At the 
same time some one shouted, "Fire their wig- 
wams." The fatal Hame caught eagerly the light 
boughs and branches of which the frail tenements 
were made, and in a few^ moments the fort was all 
ablaze. Imagination shrinks appalled from the 
scene that followed. Night was coming on. The 
snow storm had set in with fresh violence. A 
thousand Indian warriors lay dead or wounded 
within the fort. Five hundred, wigw^ams were 
burning within the same narrow compass — con- 
suming alike the bodies of the wounded and the 
dead. The w^omen and children, like their pro- 
tectors, perished in the liames. Eighty of the 
English, too, were killed — a hundred and lifty 
were wounded. Had the wigwams been spared 
there would have been food and shelter for the 
victors. But victors and vanquisher were driven 
out into the bleak night, w^eary and spent with 
long marching and fasting — the Indian to crouch 
in an open cedar swamp not far from the fort — 
the English to return to the spot from whence 
they had set out in the morning for this dreadful 
victory — Smith' s plantation, near the present vil- 
lage of Wickford. Several of the wounded died 
by the way. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 75 

Even after this blow Philip succeeded in arous- 
ing the Maine and New Hampshire tribes to his 
support, and the war still raged for a while 
through the New England settlements. Rhode 
Island suffered severely. Warwick was burned, 
and the cattle driven off. Tradition says that 
when the enemy approached Providence, Roger 
Williams, now a very old man, went out to meet 
them. . "Massachusetts," he said, "can raise 
thousands of men at this moment, and if you kill 
them, the King of England will supply their 
places as fast as they fall." "Let them come," 
was the reply, "we are ready for them. But as 
for you, brother Williams, you are a good man ; 
you have been kind to us many years ; not a hair 
of your head shall be touched." Fifty-four 
houses in tlie northern part of the town were 
burned, but the fearless old man was not harmed. 

Many of the colonists took refuge on Aquid- 
neck, where the inhabitants of Newport and 
Portsmouth received them with great kindness. 
To protect the island a little flotilla of four boats, 
manned each b}^ hve or six men, was kept sailing 
around it day and night. There was no rest for 
old or young. April opened a brighter prospect. 
Canonchet, chief of the Narragansetts was taken 
prisoner. A young Englishman attempted to 
examine him. ' ' You much child ; no understand 
matters of war. Let your brother or your chief 
come. Him I will answer," was his haughty 
reply. He was offered his life if his tribe would 



76 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

submit, but refused it. The offer was renewed 
and he calmly said, "Let me hear no more about 
it." He was sent to Stonington, where a council 
of war condemned him to death. "I like it 
well," said he; "I shall die before my heart is 
soft, or I have said anything unworthy of myself." 
That as many as possible of his own race should 
take part in his execution Pequots were em- 
ployed to shoot him, Mohegans to cut oft' his 
head and quarter him, and the Niantics to burn 
his body. When all this had been done, his head 
was sent to the Commissioners at Hartford as ' ' a 
taken of love and loyalty." 

Throughout the spring and early summer the 
war still raged with unabated violence. The 
Khode Island Assembly was so hard pushed that 
it was compelled to repeal the law exempting 
Quakers from military service. A few days be- 
fore the capture of Canonchet he had surprised a 
party of Plymouth men near Pawtuxet. A bat- 
tle was fought in an open cedar swamp in War- 
wick. But at last fortune seemed to turn towards 
the English. Philip's allies began to fall from 
him. His wife and children were taken prisoners. 
Captain Church with a chosen band was on his 
trail. Hunted from lair to lair he sought refuge 
at Mount Hope. A few followers still clung to 
his fortunes. His mind was harassed by unpro- 
pitious dreams, and in his weariness his pursuers 
came upon him unawares. > As he rose to flee he 
was shot down by a renegade Indian. The vie- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 77 

tors drew his body out of the swamp, cut off his 
head, and dividing the trunk and limbs into four 
parts hung them upon four trees. The head was 
sent to Plymouth where it was hung upon a gib- 
bet. One hand was sent to Boston where it was 
welcomed as a trophy, and the other was given 
to the renegade who shot him, by whom it was 
exhibited for money. His son was sold into 
West India servitude. 

With the death of Philip the war ended, al- 
though there were occasional collisions and blood- 
shed. For two members of the New England con- 
federacy it had been a war of desolation. Con- 
necticut, the third, escaped unharmed. Rhode 
Island, which had never been a member of it 
and had never been consulted concerning the w^ar, 
although some of its leading incidents occurred 
within her borders, suffered most. Her second 
town was burned, her plantations laid waste and 
the inhabitants of her main-land driven for 
shelter to the island. 

With the vanquished it went hard. Many 
were killed in battle, some were shot in cold 
blood by the sentence of an English court-martial. 
Many were sold into slavery — with this distinc- 
tion in favor of Rhode Island, that while the 
other colonies sold their prisoners into unquali- 
fied servitude, she established for hers a system 
of apprenticeship by which the prospect of ulti- 
mate freedom was opened to all. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INDIANS STILL TROUBLESOME.— CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.— 
TROUBLES CONCERNING THE BOUNDARY LINES. 

War was followed by pestilence, wliicli moves 
so fatally in her train. Of this pestilence we 
only know that it ran its deadly course in two or 
three days, and left its traces in almost every 
family. Meanwhile the legislature was sedu- 
lously repairing the breaches of the war. Laws 
passed in order to meet an urgent want were 
repealed, and chief among them as most repug- 
nant to the tolerant spirit of the Colony the law 
of military service. The farmers returned to 
their desolate fields — citizens to the ruins of their 
hamlets. " Give us peace," they may have said, 
*' and we will efface the traces of these ruins." 

But it was long before real peace returned. The 
Indians though subdued were still turbulent. 
Active measures were required to prevent them 
-from passing on and off the Island at will, and 
building their wigwams and mat-sheds on the 
commons and even on private lands. Kumsellers 
were found ready to sell them rum, and at 
Providence parties were sent out to scour the 
woods and guard against surprises. As an en- 
couragement to the men engaged in these duties 
their wounded were nursed at public expense. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 79 

There was more serious danger from another 
quarter. Connecticut had not renounced her 
designs against Rhode Island territory, nor was 
she slow in declaring her intentions. The first 
step was an order of the Council at Hartford for- 
bidding every one, whether white man or Indian, 
to occupy any lands in Narragansett without its 
consent. The Assembly met this order by a 
counter prohibition. No jurisdiction was to be 
exercised there but that of Rhode Island. 

This declaration of claims was promptly fol- 
lowed by action. Three planters who had re- 
turned to their plantations in Warwick were 
siezed by the Connecticut authorities and sent to 
Hartford. They appealed to their own Governor, 
Governor Clarke for protection. One of the most 
important measures of the Rhode Island govern- 
ment was the reestablishment of King' s Province. 
Full power of protection was conferred upon a 
court of justices to be held in Narragansett. No 
one was allowed to enter the Province without 
permission from the Assembly. Ten thousand 
acres of land were set apart for new settlers at 
the rate of a hundred acres to each man — the 
new settlers to be approved by the Assembly. 
Rhode Island threatened to appeal to the King. 
Connecticut declared that she was ready to meet 
the appeal. Attempts at compromise were made 
by both parties. Connecticut proposed to fix the 
line at Coweset, the modern East Greenwich. 
Rhode Island offered to allow Connecticut to dis- 



80 HISTOKY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

pose of half the unpurchased lands in the Prov- 
ince if the settlers would accept the jurisdiction 
of Khode Island. The loss of King's Province 
would have imperilled the future independence 
of Khode Island, and therewith the great princi- 
ple on which it was founded. Connecticut could 
not renounce her last hope of securing a part of 
JSTarragansett Bay. Neither offer was accepted, 
and it soon became evident that no decision could 
be reached except by appeal to the King. Peleg 
Sandford and Richard Bailey were chosen agents, 
and two hundred and fifty pounds voted for their 
expenses. The money was to be raised by the 
sale of ten thousand acres of lands in Narragan- 
sett at the rate of a shilling an aere. 
^ Meanwhile the Assembly was very active. A 
party change took place at the election of 1677 — 
Governo]' Arnold was chosen in place of Gover- 
nor Clarke. This was equivalent to a triumph of 
the war party. The militia law was again re- 
vised, care still being taken to protect the rights 
of conscience. How jealously these were guarded 
appears also in the unwillingness to multiply 
oaths of office. Five years before an act had 
been passed requiring deputies to take an engage- 
ment on entering upon the duties of their office. 
This law met with great opposition at its original 
passage, and its repeal was hailed with general 
satisfaction. Every freeman, it was said, made 
an engagement of allegiance on receiving the 
rights of citizenship. An oath is too solemn a 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 81 

thing to be lightly taken — why should we use it? 
So reasoned those concientious men. By an- 
other act, also, tliey showed how fast they held 
to this fundamental principle. 

Another sect, the Sabbatarians or Seventh-Day 
Baptists, had taken root and begun to flourish in 
the free air of Rhode Island. In 1667 they were 
sufficiently numerous to justify them in asking 
that market day might be changed from Satur- 
day, their Sabbath, to some other day. With- 
out breaking in iipon an old custom by changing 
the day, the Assembly added Thursday as an- 
other market day and thus quieted the scruples 
of honest and useful citizens. 

We have seen how promptly and firmly the 
Assembly met the encroachments of Connecticut. 
Their remonstrances were followed up by spir- 
ited and judicious action. The surest way to 
strengthen their hold upon the disputed terri- 
tory was by peopling it. Among the coves and 
inlets which give such quiet beauty to J^Tarragan- 
sett Bay there is none more beautiful than that 
broad sheet of navigable water which still retains 
in part its original name of Coweset. Here it 
was resolved to plant a colony and build a town. 
Five hundred acres were set apart in lots on the 
bay for house lots — four thousand five hundred 
in farms of ninety acres, which were distributed 
among fifty men on condition of building within 
a year and opening roads from the bay into the 
country. To guard against rash speculation no 
colonist was to sell his land within twenty-one 
6 



82 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

years unless willi the consent of the Assembly. 
Thus on the verdant hillside at whose foot a rip- 
ple from the Atlantic mingles with the inland 
murmur of Mascachugh was built the pleasant 
hamlet of East Greenwich. 

Another bitter controversy arose concerning 
the limits and extent of the original Providence 
and Pawtuxet purchase — a question of great 
local interest, and which lost none of its heat 
from having for opposite leaders Roger Williams 
and William Harris. Several difficult questions 
were mixed up with it, greatly disturbing the 
harmony of the northern section of the Colony. 
Williams had shown himself to be an inaccurate 
conveyancer in the drafting of the original deed. 
This was purely a question of title. A still more 
difficult one arose when Warwick was colonized. 
Agents were sent to England to ask for the 
appointment of commissioners to decide the con- 
troversies which the local tribunals were unable 
to decide effectually. John Greene and Randall 
Holden were the agents for Warwick ; William 
Harris for Pawtuxet. This William Harris, as 
we have already seen, was a bold thinker and an 
energetic actor. He made several voyages to 
England in defence of his party, and followed up 
with great energy every advantage that he gained 
before the tribunals at home. On his last voyage 
he fell into the hands of Barbary corsairs, and 
though ransomed after a year of captivity died 
soon after his redemption. The contrpversy did 
not cease with his death. Other voyages were 



HISTORY OF EIIODE ISLAND. 83 

made to England and other decisions obtained. 
But it was not till many years later that the un- 
wise contest was settled. Then, in 1696, the line 
between Providence and Warwick was settled 
by the Assembly, with the Pawtuxet River for 
boundary. That between Providence and Paw- 
tuxet was continued till 1712 and then settled by 
compromise. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

DEATH OF SEVERAL OF THE MOST PROMINENT MEN.— 
CHANGES IN LEGISLATION. 

The woes of Rliode Island begin anew. Scarcely 
had the war ceased when Connecticut as we have 
alread}^ seen renewed her claim to Narragansett. 
Massachusetts soon followed in the name of the 
Atherton company. And presently Plymouth 
joined herself to the roll of Rhode Island's ene- 
mies by advancing a claim to Aquidneck itself. 
Connecticut sought to strengthen her pretensions 
by asserting that the disputed territory was now 
hers by right of conquest. Thus far the sturdy 
little colony had held its ground and grown and 
prospered in the midst of enemies. Would she 
continue to hold it? Humanity itself was con- 
cerned in the answer, for of all the powers and 
kingdoms of the earth she alone was founded 
upon the principle of perfect toleration. The 
contest was a long and a weary one, too long for 
the purpose of this volume, for it is a history 
of seventy years of discussion and aggression, of 
bitter attack and firm resistance, terminating at 
last in fche triumph of the weak and single-handed. 
Rhode Island not only preserved her original ter- 
ritory but added to it from that of two of her 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 85 

enemies. I shall select a few incidents to illus- 
trate the progress of the contest. 

It was to be waged for the most part by a new 
generation. The great men of the foundation 
were passing away. John Clarke, who had 
thrown the mild lustre of his purity over the first 
half of the life of the Colony, died in 1676, leav- 
ing a deep longing, or rather a sore need of his 
civil virtues and diplomatic skill. Samuel Gor- 
ton, whose tenacious convictions made him stern 
and intolerant in public life though gentle and 
attractive in private intercourse, and whose vigor- 
ous and subtle intellect led him to rejoice in the 
bitterness of controversy as the swift horse re- 
joices in the dust of the race-course, died the year 
after. Roger Williams was spared a few years 
longer — bold, ardent, disputatious, resolute, sin- 
cere and earnest to the last. But the young of 
his middle age were growing old, and the com- 
panions of his active years were falling around 
him. His colony had thriven and flourished. 
The five men who followed him from Salem had 
become "a thousand or twelve hundred men able 
to bear arms." In spite of the threatening of the 
political horizon his strong faith told him that 
the being in whom he had put his trust thus far 
would stand b}^ him still. And thus he laid 
his head upon his last pillow, a satisfied and 
happy man. 

Another man of bold, original type — William 
Harris — had run his active career, and died with 



86 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

liis hands and heart still full of unfinished work. 
We have seen to what length he carried his 
doctrine of individual right to free action. We 
have seen him wage a bitter controversy with 
Roger Williams. Time after time he crossed the 
Atlantic as agent of the great boundary questions 
which fill so large a space in the Rhode Island 
history of this period ; the last time, and from 
w^hich he was never to return, as agent for Con- 
necticut. A deep presentiment of disaster seems 
to have filled his mind as he was preparing him- 
self for this voyage, and not satisfied with mak- 
ing his will he presented it for probate with his own 
hands. The presentiment was well founded. On 
the outward passage he was taken by a Barbary 
corsair and sold into slavery. By the exertion of 
friends he was ransomed after a year's captivity 
and made his w^ay through Spain and France to 
England. But the year of slavery had told hard 
upon him, and three days after his arrival he 
died. It has been remarked by a profound 
thinker that while Williams's more comprehen- 
sive mind could embrace both the practical and 
ideal in their mutual relations, the moment that 
Harris touched the ideal he became a radical. It 
does not seem to have struck his cotemporaries 
as it does us to see him accepting the agency of 
Connecticut in her controversy with Rhode Island. 
But he has a definite place in Rhode Island his- 
tory and did her good service through his long 
and somewhat turbulent career. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 87 

William Codding ton, who had been an eminent 
man in Massachusetts before he became a very 
eminent man in Rhode Island, lived to take an 
active part in the controversy, and died in 1678, 
while holding for the time the office of Governor. 
His temporary usurpation had been forgiven and 
forgotten, and men remembered only that he had 
sincerely renounced his hostile designs and be- 
come a loyal and useful citizen. 

Such were some of the men who bore the largest 
part in moulding the original character of Rhode 
Island. Talent and character like theirs was re- 
quired to guide the little Colony through the 
dangers that surrounded it. But before we 
return to the external history of these days we 
will gather from the acts of the Assembly a few 
records of the moral and intellectual life of the 
Colony and its progress to a higher civilization. 

Tlie publicity of the laws is a question of deep 
interest in every stage of society, but particularly 
interesting in small communities. In the early 
days of Rhode Island they were published by 
beat of drum under the seal of the (Colony. The 
violation of a law found no excuse in the plea of 
ignorance. 

The sessions of the Assembly w^ere held in a 
tavern or sometimes in a private house, always 
beginning, as the Roman assemblies did, at a 
very early hour. We have already seen that 
early attempts were made to allure the members 
to their duty by payment. It was still some time 



88 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

before this became a fixed law. In 1679 a resolu- 
tion was passed for paying the board and lodg- 
ing of the members of the Assembly arid of the 
Court of Trials. In the May session of 1680 a 
definite sum was fixed upon — seven shillings a 
week. The true nature of the reciprocal obliga- 
tion of the citizen and the State was not yet fully 
understood. 

The frequent appeals to England which the 
aggressions of the other 'New England colonies 
made necessary, made it also necessary to keep 
resident agents at the English court. Thus the 
increased expenditure of the Colony kept pace 
with the increase of her resources. 

In 1678 a tax was laid which enables us to form 
a tolerably accurate idea of the financial condition 
of the Colony. Its full amount was three hun- 
dred pounds. "Of this sum Newport was as- 
sessed one hundred and thirty-six pounds, Ports- 
mouth sixty-eight, New Shoreham and James- 
town twenty-nine each. Providence ten, Warwick 
eight, Kingston sixteen, afterwards reduced to 
eight. East Greenwich and Westerly two each." 
As the greater part of this tax was commutable, 
we are enabled to form a pretty accurate idea of 
the price of living just after the war. "Fresh 
pork was valued at twopence a pound, salted 
and well packed pork at fifty shillings a barrel, 
fresh beef at twelve shillings a hundred weight, 
packed beef in barrels thirty shillings a hundred, 
peas and barley malt two and sixpence a bushel. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 89 

corn and barley, two shillings, washed wool six- 
pence a ponnd, and good firkin butter fivepence. 
The quarter part of this tax was paid in wool at 
the rate of fivepence a pound." If we compare 
these prices with those of 1670, we shall see that 
war had proved here as everywhere a great 
scourge. 

In the law by which this tax was levied we 
find a practical illustration of the principle which 
less than a century later became the fundamental 
principle of colonial resistance to the mother 
country. None but a complete representation of 
all the towns could levy a tax, or as it was 
formulated by James Otis — taxation without rep- 
resentation is tyranny. 

It is also worthy of observation that there was 
a tendency to extend the usage of election to 
direct choice by vote of the freemen. The ofiice 
of major which at its first institution during 
Philip's war was filled by vote of the militia, 
passed, in 1678, to the whole body of freemen. 
The necessity of a distinction between martial 
and civil law seems, also, to have made itself 
more sensibly felt at the same period, and a per- 
manent court-martial was formed for the trial of 
delinquent soldiers. As the commercial spirit of 
the Colony increased the necessity of a bankrupt 
law was felt, but on trial it was found to be pre- 
mature and repealed. An attempt w^as also 
made to avoid the conflict of land titles in Nar- 
ragansett, where the interest of townships as well 



90 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAI^D. 

as of private individuals was involved. To correct 
this evil which struck at the root of social organi- 
zation the Assembly ordered that the disputed 
tracts should be surveyed and plats made of 
them. For the more efficacious protection of 
this fundamental interest it was ordered that all 
who held by Indian titles "should present their 
deeds to be passed on by the Assembly." De- 
scending to minuter particulars, we find a law 
against fast riding — first, in ' ' the compact parts 
of Newport," and not long after, of Providence, 
also. We find it also ordered that a bell be pro- 
vided and set up in some convenient place for 
calling the Assembly and courts and council to- 
gether. Of deeper interest was the act appoint- 
ing a committee to make a digest of the laws, 
"that they may be putt in print." Only part, 
however, of this resolution was carried out, and 
it was not till 1719 that the laws were put into 
a permanent form. 

Not the laws only but the language in which 
they were expressed attracted attention. We 
now meet for the first time in the enacting clause 
of a law, "and by the authority thereof be it 
ordained, enacted and declared." Instead of ex- 
ecutor administrator was written, "it being in 
that case the more proper and usual term in the 
law." In one act we find an instance of grim 
humor. The accounts of a general sergeant were 
found to be in inextricable confusion. The audit- 
ing committee resolved to call them square "and 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 91 

voted that by this act there is a full and fynal 
issue of all differences relative to said accounts 
from the beginninge of the world unto this present 
Assembly." 

In some instances the public mind was not 
made up concerning a law, and one Assembly 
would undo the work of its predecessor. One of 
the most important acts of this class was an act 
denying the revisory power of the Assembly over 
decisions of courts of trials. In the August ses- 
sion of 1680, after two years of experiment, the 
act was repealed. 

The existence of a law proves, also, the exist- 
ence of an evil. In the May session of 1679, we 
iind an act for the protection of servants, whom 
"sundry persons being evil-minded" were in 
the habit of overtasking at home, and then hiring 
others to let out for work on Sunday — thus in- 
fringing the law which practically made Sunday 
a holiday. This is not a pleasant picture, but the 
action of the Assembly forbidding the abuse 
shows that public opinion was sound. We find, 
also, that then as now sailors were more or less 
at the mercy of sailor landlords. The Assembly 
took up their defence. Those who trusted a 
sailor for more than five shillings without an 
order from his captain forfeited their claim. 
Another law bearing directly upon navigation 
was passed m the May session of 1679. "The 
master of every vessel of over twenty tons bur- 
then was required to report himself to the head 



92 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

officer of the town upon arrival and departure, 
and if over ten days in port, then to set up notice 
in two public j^laces in the town three days be- 
fore sailing." In this last act we see the in- 
fluence of the navigation act which was so long 
held to be the guardian genius of England's com- 
mercial prosperity, and which was communicated 
to all the colonies by royal edict in 1680. 

And here, as illustrative of border life when 
Rhode Island was a border colony, comes the 
story of John Clawson's curse. This John Claw- 
son was a hired servant of Roger Williams, who, 
at the instigation of a desperate fellow by the 
name of Herendeen, was attacked in the night 
from behind a thicket of barberry bushes, near 
the old north burial ground by an Indian named 
Waumaion. The Indian, who was armed with a 
broad axe, split open Clawson's chin at the first 
blow. The wound was mortal, but the wounded 
man lived long enough to utter his curse — that 
^'Herendeen and his posterity might be marked 
with split chins and haunted with barberry 
bushes" forever. The malediction, legend says, 
was fulfilled, and the descendants of the murderer 
were still distinguished in the last century^ b}^ a 
furrowed chin, and fired up with indignation at 
the mention of a barberry bush. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

COURTS AND ARMY STRENGTHENED.— COMMISSIONERS SENT 
FROM ENGLAND.— CHARTER REVOKED. 

Disputes of title fill, as we have seen, a full 
but iDonotonous chapter in this part of our his- 
tory. Among them was the dispute for Poto- 
womut, a neck of land on Coweset Bay which had 
been purchased of the Indians by order of the 
Assembly as early as 1659. Bitter disputes soon 
followed, Warwick claiming it, and individuals 
both English and Indians disputing the claim. 
At last the question was disposed of, as was sup- 
posed, finally, at a town meeting in 1680, in 
which it was divided "into fifty equal lots or 
rights, and the names of the proprietors were 
inserted on the records." But the very next year 
we meet it again as a contest between Warwick 
and Kingston. At last the Assembly interposed, 
forbidding all occupancy of the land till further 
orders, warning off intruders, but permitting the 
Warwick men to mow and improve the meadows 
as heretofore. 

Among the questions brought before the As- 
sembly in the time of these disputes, was the 
question of the power of the Town Council to 
reject or accept new citizens. The question was 



94 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

brought up by Providence and decided in the 
afRrniative. The form of application for leave 
to reside has been preserved: "To y^ Towne 
mett this 15th of December 1680. My request to 
y^ Towne is ; that they woold grant the liberty 
to reside in y^ Towne during the Tow^nes Appro- 
bation, behaving myselfe as a civill man ought 
to doe, Desireing not to j)uU y^ Towne to any 
charge by my residing liere ; and for what j^ 
Towne shall cause farther to enquire of me, I 
shall see I hope to give them a true and sober 
Answer thereunto. Y°'' friend and servant Tho. 
Waters." 

One of the lessons of the w^ar had been the im- 
portance of cavalry, and in 1682 a company was 
raised in the main-land towns consisting of 
thirty -six men, exclusive of officers. To put them 
on the same footing with the infantry they were 
allowed the same privileges, and held to the same 
obligation of exercising six days in the year. 
IS'ot long after the number of majors was doubled, 
and John Greene appointed for the main-land 
and John Coggeshall for the island. Measures 
were also taken to give greater efficiency to the 
courts, and it was decided that the October ses- 
sions should be held in Providence and Warwick 
annually. That there might be no delay in the 
execution of sentences, each of these towns w^as 
required to furnish a cage and stocks. Thus 
surely but gradually the resolute Colony went 
on in its work of organization. Eufc perilous days 
were at hand. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 95 

The appeals of the colonies to England had 
attracted her attention to these distant domains, 
which but for that might long have continued to 
grow and prosper ill obscurity. But when called 
upon to grant privileges she naturally began to 
examine into the nature of her rights, and inter- 
preted them not by the genius of the colonies, 
but by the commercial interests of the mother 
country. The act of navigation, which had its 
origin in English jealousy of Holland, bore hard 
from the beginning on the commercial industry 
of the colonies. Although first passed by the 
republican Parliament of 1651, it did not become 
an efficient act until the first Parliament of 
Charles II. in 1660, when it was formally pro- 
claimed in all the colonies by beat of drum. 
Custom-houses with all their par apheran alia 
followed close in its track. The burthen was 
soon felt, and smuggling, the natural relief of 
overtaxed commerce, became general. The bays 
and inlets of IN'ew England afforded great facili- 
ties for illicit trade, and the public conscience 
could not long resist the temptation: We shall 
see before another century is over to what Eng- 
land's narrow policy led. 

Questions relating to the colonies were gen- 
erally referred to the Board of Trade. In 1680 
came a letter from the board containing twenty- 
seven queries concerning Rhode Island. The 
agents in England also went prepared to give all 
the information that was required for the under- 



96 HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

standing of the claims and condition of the Col- 
ony. As long as Charles, the grantor of the 
charter lived, there was nothing done to excite 
alarm. But no sooner did his bigoted brother 
ascend the throne, than it became evident that 
an entire change was to be made in colonial policy. 
Rhode Island was quick to feel the blow. A 
commission of nine was appointed to settle the 
vexed question of King' s Province. Head of the 
commission was the notorious Cranfield, who had 
made himself a bad name by his tyrannical gov- 
ernment of ]S'ew Hampshire. JN^ext came Ran- 
dolph, detested in Massachusetts for his oppres- 
sive administration of the acts of trade. These 
names excited gloomy anticipations which were 
presently fullilled. 

And here let us pause a moment to observe the 
exact situation of Rhode Island at this critical 
emergency. Having had her origin in a practical 
appeal from the intolerance of Massachusetts, 
she had never been admitted to the confederation 
which gave unity and strength to the other New 
England colonies. Her doctrine of soul-liberty 
was a stencil in their nostrils, and her possession 
of the broad and beautiful Narragansett Bay so 
favorable for maritime and internal commerce, 
was, as we have seen, a constant subject of bicker- 
ing and envy. Massachusetts laid claim to Paw- 
tuxet and Warwick, and a Massachusetts com- 
pany to part of Narragansett ; Connecticut to a 
large portion of the remainder of Narragansett, 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 97 

Plymouth to Aqiiidneck and other islands of the 
Bay. Little was left to Rhode Island but the 
plantations on the Mooshausick. All of these 
claims were enforced by all the means and arts 
within the command of the stronger colonies 
except actual war, and resisted with admirable 
resolution and perseverance by the weaker colony. 
We have seen how agents were sent to plead her 
cause at the court of their common sovereign, 
how every attempt to establish jurisdiction had 
been promptly resisted and every intrusion in- 
stantly repelled. In the darkest hour she never 
lost heart nor bated one jot her rights. But the 
darkest hour of all was at hand. 

Cranfield and Randolph set themselves zeal- 
ously to their congenial task. The Assembly 
met for theirs. The Commissioners refused to 
establish their position by showing their creden- 
tials. The Assembly refused to recognize them 
officially without credentials. The rupture was 
open and violent. The Assembly appointed new 
agents to repair to court and lay the evidence in 
behalf of the Colony before the King. A tax of 
four hundred pounds was imposed to meet their 
expenses. Much importance was attached to an 
address to the King drawn up by Randall Holden 
and John Greene. Meanwhile the Commissioners 
on their part were not idle. Cranfield wrote to 
the Board of Trade that the colonies were dis- 
loyal. "It never will be otherwise," he added, 
"till their charters are broke and the college at 
7 



98 HISTOKY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

Cambridge utterly extirpated, for from thence 
these half-witted philosophers turn either Athe- 
ists or seditions preachers." He was right, for 
it was at Cambridge that Otis and Qnincy and 
Warren and the two Adamses imbibed the prin- 
ciples which led to independence. 

It was in 1684, in the midst of these struggles, 
that a petition of the Jews for protection was 
presented to the Assembly and granted — Rhode 
Island remaining true to the last to the principle 
of her origin. 

The decision of the Royal Commissioners was 
unfavorable to Rhode Island, and it is hard to 
see how she could have escaped mutilation. But 
she was menaced by a still greater danger. In 
1684 Charles the Second died, and his brother 
James ascended the throne, bringing with him a 
narrow mind and a bad heart. To establish an 
arbitrary government and restore the supremacy 
of the Romish Church were the cardinal points 
of his policy. The American colonies afforded 
a favorable field for the trial. It began by the 
revocation of their charters, and was speedily fol- 
lowed up by putting the government of the New 
England colonies under one head. 

Rhode Island found herself where she stood at 
the beginning, a government of towns. Her 
original four towns had united under one govern- 
ment for self-defence, and now that they were 
arbitrarily separated by a power too great to be 
resisted they naturally fell back upon their orig- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 99 

inal municipal institutions. This closing scene 
is not without its dignity. The Assembly met at 
its accustomed time. The Governor, Walter 
Clarke, solemnly called upon the freemen for 
counsel. The whole question of dangers and 
difficulties was discussed, and wisely preferring 
petition to resistance, it was resolved to address 
a solemn appeal to the King for the preservation 
of their charter. Then all returned to its original 
order. The freemen met and discussed their 
town interests in their town meetings. Town 
officers elected by their townsmen performed 
their accustomed duties. The tradesman and 
the farmer went on in his chosen calling and the 
towns throve and prospered, still looking with 
unwavering trust to a day of redemption. 



CHAPTER XIT. 

CHANGES IN FORM OF GOVERNMENT.— SIR EDMOND ANDROS 
APPOINTED GOVERNOR. — HE OPPRESSES THE COLONISTS 
AND IS FINALLY DEPOSED. 

Thus a provisional government took the place 
of the charter government under which New- 
England had grown so rapidly. A great and 
successful experiment in political science was 
suddenly checked, and hopes which had led so 
many devout and earnest men to renounce the 
conveniences of home for the perils and discom- 
forts of a wilderness were rudely crushed at the 
very moment when they seemed nearest their ful- 
fillment. The same blow which fell upon Rhode 
Island fell with equal fatality upon Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut. The government by char- 
ter ceased. The two most active agents of James 
in this remoulding of the government of the 
colonies were Dudley, President of the Council, 
and Randolph, the Secretary, whose despotic con- 
duct in Boston has already been mentioned. Here 
was a broader and more congenial field. 

It was resolved as has been seen to address the 
King in behalf of the Colony, and John Greene, 
venerable by years and illustrious by public 
services, was appointed to carry the address to 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 101 

England and advocate it as agent for the Colony. 
He had watched over the cradle of the Colony — 
who so fit to stand by its grave. 

Unfortunately, party had lost none of its viru- 
lence even in this supreme hour, and a small 
minority of dissentients was found to the sober 
and judicious conduct of the Assembly. Among 
them were members of the Atherton company, and 
among their methods of attack were bitter asper- 
sions upon the personal character of the colonial 
agent. The provisional government found enough 
to do in preparing the colonies for their new life, 
and one of their earliest measures was a final 
organization of King's Province. Among the 
changes that they made was the changing of the 
names of its three towns. Kingston, the largest, 
was called Rochester, Westerly, the next in size, 
became Haversham, and East Greenwich, the 
smallest, took the name of Bedford. The western 
boundary of Haversham was Pawcatuck River. 
Bedford was extended on the north to Warwick, 
and enlarged by the peninsula of Potowomut. 
Part of the actual settlers were living on land to 
which they had no legal claim. Preemption 
rights were granted them and time given them to 
^'arrange with the owners by rent or purchase." 

At last, on the 20th of December, 1686, the 
Royal Governor, Sir Edmond Andros, arrived in 
Boston. He came in a ship of the royal navy 
and brought with him two companies of the royal 
army, the first regular troops that had ever been 



102 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAT^D. 

seen in Massachusetts. He had already been in 
the colonies and knew the spirits with whom he 
would have to deal. Rhode Island, like her sis- 
ters, had everything to fear from his abitrary 
will. But she had treated him with respectful 
consideration on his former visit, and was now 
treated by him with less than his usual harshness. 

He entered at once upon his welcome task, the 
transformation of a constitutional government 
into a despotism. Massachusetts came first in 
order, and the very first blow was a deadly one, 
an outrage upon her convictions and a deep 
humiliation to her pride. Her Puritan theocracy, 
which had penetrated every part of her civil 
polity, was overthrown, and the service of the 
church of England was openly celebrated. In 
this Rhode Island had no change to fear, for 
freedom of conscience was, till other ends were 
accomplished, the doctrine of the King himself. 
In all other things all the colonies fared alike. 

We have seen how watchful Rhode Island was 
of the taxing power, and how nearly she had 
reached the great fundamental principle that 
taxation and representation go together. Andros 
sent out his tax-gatherers without consulting the 
tax-payers. His object was to raise money, no 
matter how. Farming the revenue, always a 
favorite device of despotism, offered facilities 
which he promptly turned to account. The aug- 
mentation of fees was an abundant source. Those 
of probate were increased twenty-fold. Writs of 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 103 

intrusion opened another channel for organized 
robbery. No one could tell how soon he might 
be compelled to buy his farm over again. Even 
marriage afforded a field for the display of arbi- 
trary power. Necessity at first compelled the 
government to recognize the validity of civil mar- 
riages. But as the transformation of laws and 
usages progressed, no marriages were recognized 
as valid which were not celebrated according to 
the rights of the Church of England. To feel the 
odious tyranny of this law it should be remembered 
that there was but one Episcopal clergyman in 
the Colony. Another oppressive act was the in- 
troduction of passports, whether for the fees they 
brought in or in order to throw obstacles in the 
way of a free communication among the colonies, 
it would be difficult to tell. 

Andros's commission gave him the power to 
appoint and remove his counselors at will. The 
council consisted of nineteen members, five of 
whom were from Rhode Island. One of them, 
John Greene, was absent on his agency in Eng- 
land. Their first meeting was held at Boston. 
In this the usnal oaths of allegiance and office 
were taken, the two Quaker members from Rhode 
Island being allowed to make their affirmation. 
All officers in commission were continued in office 
during the Governor' s pleasure, and a 11 laws that 
did not clash with the laws of England, were re- 
tained. The first was the only full meeting of 
this impotent board, which onlj^ met to confirm 
the resolves of an arbitrary Governor. 



104 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

In substance Andros liad his own way, thougli 
not without occasional opposition and now and 
then humiliation. In Rhode Island the charter 
was adroitly put out of his reach by Governor 
Clarke and not reproduced till he had left New- 
port. In Connecticut it was hidden in the hollow 
of an oak. The seal of Rhode Island was broken. 
The members of the council were constantly 
changing, and few of them, according to Ran- 
dolph, cared for the King. "His Excellency has 
to do with a perverse people." 

We meet some of the questions of our own day. 
Licenses for the sale of liquor w^ere granted in 
Newport, but no liquor could be sold in King's 
Province. How well the prohibition w^as obeyed 
it is impossible to say. Poor laws also appear in 
the guise of taxes for the support of that per- 
plexing part of the population. It would be 
tedious and useless to follow the despotic Gover- 
nor through all the changes of his administration 
of two years and four months. Suffice it to say 
that he had fully imbibed the spirit of his master, 
and did all that he could to reduce the colonies to 
servitude. A few provisions, however, may be 
mentioned as illustrating the condition of the 
country. With the growth of the towns fires 
became sources of danger. To enforce watchful- 
ness the person in whose house a fire broke out 
w^as fined two and sixpence, and for still greater 
security every householder was required to set 
*'a ladder reaching to the ridge pole, to every 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 105 

house that he owned." Attention was called to 
the fishing in Pettaquaniscot pond and an order 
passed for encouraging it. A tax was laid for 
the extermination of wolves, which seem still to 
have been very numerous. 

In April, 1688, Andros's commission was en- 
larged so as to comprise New York and the Jer- 
seys, all under the general appellation of New 
England. Enlarged powers and minute instruc- 
tions accompanied the new commission, and 
among the former was the subjection of the press 
to the will of the Governor. 

But another change was drawing nigh. There 
was nothing in common between James the 
Second and the New England colonist, and An- 
dros represented his master too faithfully not 
to be bitterly hated. Even Thanksgiving, that 
thoroughly New England festival, was neglected 
when announced by his proclamation. Some 
spoke out their detestation openly to his face. 
"I suppose," he said one morning to Dr. Hooker, 
the great clerical wit of Hartford, "all the good 
people of Connecticut are fasting and praying on 
my account." "Yes," replied the Doctor, "we 
read, ' This kind goeth not out but by fasting and 
prayer.' " 

Rhode Island suffered less at his hands than 
any other colony. The enforced toleration which 
excited such strong feelings in Massachusetts 
met with no opposition in a territory where Bap- 
tists and Quakers and Puritans and Separatists 



106 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

worshipped according to tlieir own convictions. 
John Greene soon became aware that there was no 
prospect of a return to the free life of the charter 
so long as James held the throne. Therefore, 
without renouncing the hope of a better future, 
he confined his negotiations for the present to 
questions of minor, though important bearing. 
Chief among them was the putting an end to the 
intrusions of the outside claimants to Narragan- 
sett. This brought up all the unsettled claims 
which had been so pertinaciously enforced and so 
firmly resisted. The Atherton claim was thrown 
out by the Commissioners as extorted from the 
Indians by fear. The Connecticut claim was re- 
pudiated upon grounds set forth in the Rhode 
Island charter. Several individual titles, both 
Indian and English, were considered, and after 
careful examination, the right of Rhode Island 
to King's Province was confirmed for the third 
time — "against Connecticut in point of jurisdic- 
tion, and against the so-called proprietors in point 
of ownership." This report was met in England 
by a petition of Lord Culpepper in behalf of the 
Atherton company for grants of land not already 
occupied and the bass ponds, upon such quit rents 
as might seem good to the King. The petition 
was granted in part and Andros was intrusted to 
" assign them such lands as had not already been 
occupied — at a quit rent of two and sixpence for 
every hundred acres." 
Thus far Rhode Island has come off with honor 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 107 

in her contests with her neighbors. There was 
one, however, in which she won no honor. A 
party of unfortunate Huguenots had established 
themselves in King's Province, forming a little 
settlement of their own and paying honestly for 
their lands. But the French name was not loved 
in the colonies and their Protestant neighbors 
persecuted them away. Traces of them may still 
be found in the neighborhood where they settled, 
which bears to this day the name of Frenchtown. 
Meanwhile great changes were taking place in 
England, where James was rapidly running his 
career of bigotry and oppression. Slow as the 
communications between the mother country and 
her colonies were there was still communication 
enough to enable the latter to form some concep- 
tion of the state of public feeling in the former. 
The new government had never acquired any 
stability in New England. The Council was con- 
stantly changing, and after the first meeting never 
all met together again. The public mind was 
ripe for revolution, and when the first tidings of 
the fall of James reached New England she was 
prepared to accept them with all their conse- 
quences. Unfortunately for Andros he was in 
Boston at this critical moment, and Boston was 
ready to act with her wonted vigor. The Gov- 
ernor was summoned to surrender his authority, 
and refusing, was thrown into prison. Massa- 
chusetts made haste to reorganize her government, 
but her charter was gone. 



CHAPTEE XY. 

CHARTER GOVERNMENT AGAIN RESUMED. — FRENCH WAR. — 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. — CHARGES AGAINST THE COL- 
ONIES. 

Rhode Island had never hated Andres as 
bitterly as the other colonies had hated him, for 
the freedom of conscience which he endeavored 
to force upon them was in her a fundamental 
principle. But she loved her charter and rightly 
believed that it was the only sure pledge of her 
liberties. Therefore, w^hen Dudley, the Chief- 
Justice, undertook to open his court, he was 
seized and put in jail. This was a bold casting 
off of the new government. The next step was a 
cautious return to the old. A letter from New- 
port came out calling upon the freemen of Rhode 
Island to meet there "before the day of usual 
election by charter," to take counsel together 
concerning public affairs. When the day came 
the freemen met, and doubtless with all their 
usual freedom of debate, prepared a statement 
of their reasons for resuming their charter gov- 
ernment. Party lines were already sharply 
drawn. On one side were the Royalists, led by 
the rich merchant, Francis Brinley, who opposed 
the resumption of the charter, and called for a 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 109 

general government by immediate appointment 
of the King. On the other were the Republicans, 
stronger both by number and by fervor of opinion. 
Their boldness secured the freedom of the Colony. 
In an address to "the present supreme power of 
England," they gave their reasons for returning 
to their charter, and asked to have their action 
approved. Deputy-Governor Coggeshall, with 
several assistants, resumed their functions, but 
Governor Clarke, whose characteristic trait was 
caution, declined and the Colony was ten months 
without a governor. 

Still, in May, all the old officers were reinstated 
and "all the laws superseded in 1686" resumed 
their place on the schedule. ' ' The charter was 
produced in open Assembly" and then restored 
to Governor Clarke for safe keeping. When the 
question of the legalit}^ of the resumption of 
charter government came before the King, he 
approved it upon the written opinion of the law 
officers of the crow^n that ' ' the charter, never 
having been revoked, but only suspended, still 
remained in full force and effect." Heartily 
must Rhode Island and Connecticut have rejoiced 
that theirs had been so successfully guarded. In 
May came the welcome tidings that William and 
Mary had been acknowledged in England. They 
were promptly and joyfully acknowledged in the 
colonies. Dr. Increase Mather, a great name in 
Massachusetts, was in London on behalf of the 
colonies when the revolution broke out. He ob- 



110 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

tained an early audience of William and pleaded 
for the recall of Andros. The recall was granted, 
and after ten months of confinement the crest- 
fallen Governor was sent to England for trial. 
But his conduct was viewed in a different light 
in the mother country from what it had been in 
the colonies. "The charges against him were 
dismissed by the royal order, on the ground of 
insufficiency — and that he had done nothing 
which was not fully justified by his instructions." 
As a compensation for his long imprisonment, he 
was presently made Governor of Virginia. 

In February, 1689-90, the Assembly met for 
the first time in four years and entered upon 
the work of organization. Seventeen deputies, 
together with the officers chosen in May, were 
present. Absentees were summoned. Clarke 
refused to serve as Governor. Christopher Almy 
also declined. The bold but aged Henry Bull 
was chosen in his stead. After some hesitation 
Clarke gave up the charter and other official 
papers. Funds which had been appropriated to 
the building of a Colony House were held by 
Roger Goulding, who promptly paid them over. 
Andros had broken the original colonial seal. 
A new seal, Hope with her anchor, was procured. 
Rhode Island' s exposed situation laid her open to 
attacks by sea, and thus imposed the necessity of 
new expenses. War had broken out between 
England and France, and the colonies were to 
come in for their share of war's sufferings. Some 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. Ill 

fear was felt of the colony in Frenchtown, and 
the few survivors of the unfortunate settlement 
were required to repair to the office of John 
Greene, in Warwick, and take the oath of alle- 
giance to the King. 

Thus the government was regularly organized 
and public business began to move on in its 
accustomed track. At the May session of 1690 
Governor Bull declined a reelection, and John 
Easton was chosen in his place. John Greene 
was chosen Deputy-Governor. One more was 
added to the list of assistants, who thus became 
ten. Here ends the probation of Rhode Island. 

Poor and weak, through toil and sacrifice, in 
spite of internal dissensions and external enmities, 
calumniated for the great truth on which she was 
founded, coveted for the beautiful territory which 
she had redeemed from the wilderness, she had 
solved the problem of self-government and proved 
that the religious virtues may flourish without 
the aid of civil authority. The struggle for 
existence is over. She now enters through indus- 
try upon the path to wealth and culture. 

The sessions of the Assembly had been held 
hitherto in taverns or private houses. But now 
a proper edifice, the town house, is built for 
public use and the public meetings are held in it. 
Thus far, also, the governor, the deputy-gov- 
ernor and the assistants have received no compen- 
sation for their services. They are henceforth 
exempted from the Colony tax. War with the 



112 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

French and Indians was raging all along the 
northern frontier. N'ew York was the colony 
most exposed. Leister, her Governor, called on 
the other colonies for aid. Rhode Island, whose 
extensive water fronts left her open to attacks by 
sea, could not send men, and therefore taxed 
herself three hundred pounds to send money. 
The wisdom of this course was soon apparent. 
Seven French privateers made a descent upon the 
islands on the coast, committing horrible excesses. 
Bonfires were kindled at Pawcatuck to alarm the 
country, and a sloop well manned sent out from 
JSTewport to reconnoitre. A night attempt was 
made upon the town but failed. One upon New 
London was repulsed. Two sloops carrying 
ninety men were sent out under Thomas Paine 
and John Godfrey to fight the enemy. A bloody 
battle which lasted two hours and a half followed, 
and the French were driven off with the loss of 
half their crews and a valuable prize. Block 
Island was particularly exposed during this war. 
Four attacks were made upon it, the inhabitants 
ill treated and their cattle driven off. In the last 
invasion the privateersmen were defeated in "an 
open pitched battle." 

The war pressed so "heavily on the commercial 
interests of the community that it was found 
necessary to lay a tonnage duty of a shilling a 
ton upon the vessels over ten tons burthen of 
other colonies that broke bulk in Newport harbor. 
The payment might be made in money or in 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAISTD. 113 

powder, at the rate of a shilling a pound, and 
the products of the duty were employed in keep- 
ing up a powder magazine on the island. Rhode 
Islanders had not yet learnt to pay their taxes 
promptly, and more than once the Assembly was 
called together to devise the means of collecting 
sums already voted. The tonnage duty was a 
welcome, though a small contribution, to the 
scanty resources of the little Colony. A few 
years later a new source was opened by the levy 
of a duty upon foreign wines, liquors and molas- 
ses — that upon molasses being a half-penny a 
gallon. In the August session of 1698 an elabo- 
rate tax law in twelve sections was enacted, and 
a tax of eight hundred pounds currency was 
voted. By this act a poll tax of a shilling a head 
was imposed upon all males between sixteen and 
sixty. But this, also, was not easily collected, 
and years passed before an adequate method of 
taxation was devised and applied. 

Shortly after the return to the charter the 
small-pox broke out. "Rhode Island is almost 
destroyed by the small-pox," says a co temporary 
letter." When the Assembly met they were 
unable to open the session with the prescribed 
formalities, for the only copy of the charter was 
in the keeping of the recorder, who was sick with 
the dreaded disease, and the reading of the charter 
was the first step towards organization. When 
the pestilence was passed, the attention of legisla- 
tion was directed to the militia laws, which were 
revised and brought more into harmony with the 
S 



114 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

material wants of the Colony. In this connection 
it may not be out of place to remember that the 
town house was enlarged and a belfry added to 
it. Government was gradually putting on the 
external forms of authority. 

In 1691 a change occurred on the eastern border 
which threatened her inter-colonial relations. 
Plymouth was merged in Massachusetts, which 
was thus brought into larger contact with Rhode 
Island. Sir William Phipps, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, was appointed Governor, with a com- 
mission which gave him command over all the 
forces of New England, by land and by sea — a 
flagrant violation of the charters of Rhode Island 
and Connecticut, and which was vigorously re- 
pelled. Older grievances were not entirely healed. 
Some Pawcatuck men asked to be placed under 
the laws of Connecticut. The leaven of the 
Atherton company dispute had not yet spent 
its force. But the change of tone in the language 
of the correspondence shows that the bitterness 
which had distinguished its early stages was 
gradually passing away. 

This (1692) was the time of the witchcraft trials 
in Massachusetts, a delusion in which Rhode 
Island did not share, for though she gave witch- 
craft a place on her statute books as a tribute to a 
superstition of the age, she never brought it into 
her courts. She was busied with more important 
questions. 

Phipps was urging his claim to command the 
New England forces. John Greene, now Deputy- 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 115 

Governor, went to Boston with one of the assist- 
ants to discuss the matter. They got no satisfac- 
tion from the aspiring governor, either npon the 
question of command or upon the equally impor- 
tant question of the boundary line. The whole 
matter was referred to the Board of Trade and 
by them to the Attorney- General, who decided in 
favor of Rhode Island. A distinction, however, 
was made between peace and war. In time of 
war the commander-in-chief might, in conjunc- 
tion wdth the governor, call out the quota pre- 
scribed by the Board of Trade. Rhode Island's 
quota for service under the Governor of New 
York was forty-eight men. The eastern bound- 
ary question was referred to the New York 
Council as being disinterested and near the spot. 
The Narragansett dispute though so often decided 
in favor of Rhode Island, still reappeared from 
time to time. Several years were yet to pass 
before the boundaries both on the east and the 
west were definitively settled and the stout little 
Colony secured in the possession of her own ter- 
ritory. I shall no longer attempt to follow the 
story through its obscure ramifications. It has 
served thus far to illustrate colonial life, and 
show with what tenacity of purpose and devotion 
to a great principle Rhode Island followed up her 
labor of organization. It was the border war of 
our colonial history. 

The necessity of regular communication between 
the colonies began to be seriously felt, and part of 
John Greene's mission to Boston in 1692 was to 



116 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

negotiate the establishment of a post office. Early 
in the following year Thomas Neale, acting under 
patent from the King, established a weekly mail 
from Boston to Virginia. E.hode Island came in 
for her share of the advantage^ The rate of post- 
age upon a single inland letter from Boston to 
Khode Island was sixpence. And thus was woven 
one of the first links in the chain which, before 
another century was passed, had bound all the 
colonies in an indissoluble union. 

We have seen a gradual approach towards a 
just comprehension of the relations of the state 
to its officers. The decisive step was taken in 
1695, when a salary of ten pounds was voted to 
the governor, six pounds to the deputy-governor, 
four pounds to the assistants and three shillings 
a day to the deputies while in session. Absen- 
tees forfeited twice their pay. 

In the following year an important change was 
made in the organization of the Assembly, the 
deputies becoming a separate house coordinate 
with the assistants, each house occupying a separ- 
ate room and having a veto upon the action of 
the other. It will help to form a correct idea of 
daily life in the country if I add that a bounty 
of ten shillings was paid for killing old wolves, 
and of the seaports and sea coast that privateers 
were fitted out from them with very irregular 
commissions. Blackbirds fared hard in Ports- 
mouth, where every householder was required to 
kill twelve before the tenth of May, under penalty 
of two shillings, and with a premium of a shilling 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 117 

a head for all over twelve. This was to serve as 
a protection for fields. But the serious danger 
was from the Indians, for the treaty of Ryswick 
gave for sometime but an imperfect peace to the 
colonies. Inroads of Indians were frequent and 
sudden. Never had the councils of war been 
more active or more constantly in session, and 
never had the men who were fit for service been 
more constantly under arms. Scouting parties 
of ten men were sent out every two days to serve 
beyond the limits of the plantations. Such were 
the trials of the second generation of colonizers. 

The violation of the acts of trade and lax deal- 
ing with privateers became so flagrant that the 
home government after many vain complaints 
resolved to establish courts of admirality in all 
the colonies. The attorney-general was consulted 
and said there was nothing in their charters to 
prevent it. The colonial agents exerted them- 
selves earnestly to ward oft* the blow, but with- 
out success, and when the Rhode Island agent, 
Jahleel Brenton, returned in December, 1697-8, he 
brought a commission to Peleg Sandford as 
Judge, and to Nathaniel Coddington as Register. 
Governor Clarke opposed it and tried to induce 
the Assembly to join in the opposition. Brenton 
advised that he should be impeached, whereupon 
Clarke resigned in favor of his nephew, Samuel 
Cranston. 

The Colony was entering upon a new period of 
trial and danger. The enemies of her chartered 
rights were numerous and powerful, and unhap- 



118 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

pily for her were supported in their charges by 
a dangerous array of specious evidence. The 
rival interests were represented by men admirably 
fitted for their respective tasks. The Royal Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, Lord Bellemont, a man 
of singular ability and strength of character, 
represented the party that would have made New 
England a vice-royalty. Cranston, firm, resolute 
and self-possessed, held that Rhode Island under 
the protection of her charter had fully proved 
her capacity for self-government. 

The great interest at stake was the interest of 
trade. Domestic trade was fostered and pro- 
tected. Peddling was prohibited as injurious to 
regular traffic. Pains were taken to secure uni- 
formity of weights and measures. In all this no 
power was assumed which the spirit if not the 
letter of the charter did not fully grant. But 
the act of navigation had raised up an enemy to 
foreign trade which in time of war encouraged 
privateering and in time of peace led to piracy. 
The treaty of Ryswick left many hardy spirits 
afloat, greedy for gold and unscrupulous in their 
pursuit of it. 

The American coast offered great facilities for 
smuggling, and it was only as smugglers that 
pirates or privateersmen could convert their 
prizes into money. Much of this money it is said 
was buried in retired nooks of the inlets and bays 
along the coast. The royal revenues suffered 
greatly by this illicit trade, and the royal agents 
accused the colonists of openly favoring it. ' ' The 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 119 

people of New York," wrote Lord Bellemont to 
the Board of Trade, "have such an appetite for 
piracy and unlawful trade that they are ready to 
rebel as often as the government puts the law in 
execution against them." Rhode Island was 
held to be a favorite resort of these bold adven- 
turers. Both Cranston her Governor, and John 
Greene her Deputy-Governor were accused of 
favoring them. Greene, who had been elected 
ten years in succession, was dropped in 1700, but 
Cranston was reelected from year to year, thirty 
years in succession. 

Meanwhile Bellemont, whose hostility was em- 
bittered by the instigations of Randolph, went 
on collecting document upon document, till the 
formidable list amounted to twenty -live heads of 
accusation — chief of which was connivance with 
pirates — and, as he wrote to the Board of Trade, 
''making Rhode Island their sanctuary." Should 
the Board of Trade accept these accusations, 
what could preserve the (Colony from a quo war- 
ranto? Nothing did save her but the death of 
the Royal Governor. 

To this period belongs the story of Captain 
Kidd, long the subject of many a fearful tradi- 
tion and all the more widely known from having 
exchanged an admiral's flag for the black flag 
of the corsair. After a wild and adventurous 
career in the Indian ocean he came to the Amer- 
ican coast, and showing himself boldly in the 
streets of Boston was arrested, sent to England 
for trial and hanged. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

COLONIAL PKOSPERITY. — DIFFICULTIES OCCASIONED BY THE 
WAR WITH THE FRENCH. — DOMESTIC AFFAIRS OF THE 
COLONY. 

If we may judge the prosperity of the Colony 
by the increase of taxation — and taxes it must be 
remembered were self-imposed — we shall find 
that Rhode Island at the beginning of the new 
centary had made real if not rapid progress in 
all the branches of national prosperity. Her 
population in 1702 was estimated at ten thousand, 
exclusive of Indians. She drew supplies from 
foreign ports in bottoms of her own, and raised 
the staples of life on her own farms. Her citizens 
were merchants, farmers, fishermen and sailors. 
There was a beginning, also, of manufactures — to 
the sore displeasure of the Board of Trade. 

We perceive, also, by the same test that Prov- 
idence had regained the relative position which 
she had lost during Philip's war, and was once 
more the second town of the Colony. 

The soul liberty of which I have spoken so 
often had borne rich fruits. Baptists, Quakers, 
Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Puritans and 
Sabbatarians had their respective places of wor- 
ship and their independent pastors. Among the 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 121 

Baptist pastors we lind John Clarke. Among 
the Congregationalists Samuel Niles, a native of 
Block Island, and the first Rhode Islander that 
graduated at Harvard. In 1704 the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts 
sent out James Honeyman to build up an Epis- 
copal church in the southern part of the Colony. 
He found much to do as rector of Trinity, in 
]N"ewport, and missionary to Freetown, Tiverton 
and Little Compton on the main. His memory 
is still preserved in Episcopal traditions and 
Honeyman' s Hill, the highest land in the southern 
extremity of the island, is a familiar name to the 
inhabitants of Newport. In 1706 an Episcopal 
society was founded in Kingston, with Rev. 
Christopher Bridge for rector. So well was the 
work on the church done, that after remaining 
where it was built ninety-three years, it w^as re- 
moved to Wickford, wdiere it is still used under 
the name of the Church of St. Paul. One of the 
most interesting of these denominations was that 
of the Sabbatarians, or Seventh-day Baptists, 
who had also a flourishing church in Westerly. 
To meet their peculiar views two weekly market 
days were set apart for them. 

The meetings and acts of the Assembly still 
continue to form the principal record of our 
history. The Assembly itself claimed equal 
rights with those exercised by Parliament over 
its own members, and at a special session in 1701, 
suspended an assistant who had married a couple 



122 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

illegally and refused to acknowledge his error. 
The Board of Trade had more than once called 
for a printed copy of the laws of the Colony, 
and as a proof that they were regularly adminis- 
tered Governor Cranston sent a full statement of 
the mode of procedure in all the courts. I have 
already spoken of Lord Bellemont's plan for the 
formation of a great vice-royalty over all the 
colonies, including the Bahama Islands. After 
his death this wild scheme, fatal to the freedom 
and prosperity of British America, was revived 
by Dudley. The irregular administration of the 
navigation laws was the chief pretext, and it 
probably was held to be a sufficient concession to 
freedom that the local government was left in the 
hands of the colonial assemblies. A bill for this 
purpose was drawn up near the close of William' s 
reign and brought forward early in that of Anne. 

But the rights of the colonies were boldly and 
ably defended by Sir Henry Ashurst, the agent 
of Connecticut, and the fatal bill rejected after 
a fall discussion. Dudley himself, however, was 
in high favor. He was appointed Governor and 
Vice-Admiral of Massachusetts and New Hamp- 
shire, and what was still more objectionable 
Vice- Admiral of Ehode Island and King's Prov- 
ince, a fruitful source of jealousies and bicker- 
ings. 

Meanwhile the Assembly went on in its work 
of legislation, taking advantage of its experience 
to correct old errors, and gradually adapting the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 123 

laws to the increasing wants of society. At tlie 
May session of 1701 we find justices of the peace 
first mentioned in connection witli a general elec- 
tion. Thirteen were then appointed. In the 
same session a resolution for the reorganization of 
tlie militia law was again brought forward and 
the law of marriage revised and made more 
stringent. New powers were given the governor 
for enforcing the navigation act. Progress had 
been made towards a correct estimate of the obli- 
gations of society to its officers. The governor's 
salary was raised to forty pounds — a sum much 
increased during the year by special gratuities. 
The recorder was forbidden to practice at the bar 
except in cases which concerned himself or the 
town or Colony. Protection against vagrants 
was sought in a rigid vagrant act, extending to 
comers from other colonies, deserters from the 
King's service and "passengers brought in by 
sea and landed without consent of the authorities. ' ' 
The short lived treaty of Kyswick was broken, 
and in the May session of 1702 preparations were 
made for the defence of Newport harbor by build- 
ing a fort on Goat Island. In the town itself a 
battery was erected near the ground now occu- 
pied by the Union Bank. The funds for these 
defences were to be drawn from "forfeitures to 
the treasury and the gold plate and money taken 
from convicted pirates. ' ' The pay of the garrison 
at the fort was fixed at twelve pounds a year, 
with rations. Scouts, that essential element of 



124 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

every good army, but especially necessary where 
the enemy were part Indians, received three shil- 
lings a day while in active service. The spirit 
of adventni'e was awakened. Captain William 
Wanton, of Portsmouth, took out a commission 
as privateersman and brought in several valuable 
prizes. 

In September Dudley undertook to take com- 
mand of the Rhode Island troops — about two 
thousand men in all, and coming to Newport 
directed that they should be called out in his 
name. The calm but firm resistance of Governor 
Cranston and Major Martindale thwarted his 
usurpation, and he left the town in disgust. 

In 1703 the long boundary line contest between 
Rhode Island and Connecticut was brought to a 
close, and Rhode Island confirmed in the juris- 
diction over Narragansett which had been assigned 
to her in the arbitration of Clarke and Winthrop. 
Much of this was owing to the staunch loyalty 
of the men of Westerly, where its good effects 
were immediately felt. Yet so little were the 
true interests of the colonies understood by their 
transatlantic rulers, that it was not till twenty- 
three years later that the decision of the Commis- 
sioners was formally approved by the King. 

This failure to comprehend the character and 
interest of the colonies showed itself in various 
ways, but in none more offensively than in the 
attempt of the Board of Trade to make Dudley 
Governor of Rhode Island by royal appointment. 



HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 125 

But fortunately for Rhode Island, the powerful 
William Penn had been enlisted on her side, and 
the Queen's Council refused to accept the recom- 
mendation of the Board of Trade. 

Another question which menaced serious dan- 
ger to the Colony by placing it in a false position 
towards the mother country arose from the war. 
How far was she bound to send troops to the 
support of her sister colonies ? Dudley claimed 
them for the defence of the Massachusetts fron- 
tier, Lord Cornberry for that of New York. 
Rhode Island pointed to her long water front, 
broken by bays and coves and constantly exposed 
to the fleets and privateers of the enemy, and 
claimed that she needed her men for her own 
protection. As a proof, however, of her willing- 
ness to do all that could justl}^ be asked of her, 
she appealed to her past conduct and to the fact 
that during the last seven years she had spent 
nearly a thousand pounds a year for military 
purposes. 

The war bore hardly upon the resources of the 
Colony. A French fleet was expected on the 
coast. Scouts were constantly on the look-out. 
Block Island was garrisoned. The fleet did not 
come, but one incident occurred which, though 
upon a small scale, brought out in strong colors 
the maritime spirit of the Colony. A French 
privateer in a cruise off Block Island took a 
sloop laden with provisions. The news reached 
the Governor the next day. In two hours two 



126 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

sloops, manned by one liundred and twenty 
volunteers, and commanded by Captain Jolm 
Wanton, were on their way in pursuit of the 
enemy, and in less than three hours more took 
her, recaptured her prize and brought both safe 
into Newport. 

The current of our history still continues to flow 
in a narrow channel. Each new session of the 
Assembly added to the body of the laws and met 
new wants. Newport had no charter. One was 
granted her by special statute. The other towns 
held theirs by grants of the Assembly. The sub- 
ject of a court of chancery began to attract atten- 
tion in 1705, but was held to be premature, and 
its duties were still left for the present with the 
Assembly. 

Boundary questions still continued to occupy 
the Assembly and annoy the inhabitants of the 
border. The northern boundary brought Rhode 
Island into direct collision with Massachusetts, 
which was now the heiress of the claims of 
Plymouth. Commissioners were appointed who 
made no report, and it was only by slow steps 
that the Colony assumed its permanent form and 
dimensions. 

Among the laws which were brought every day 
to every door was the law which made the price 
of wheat the standard of the price of bread. 
Every baker was required to have his trade mark 
and make every loaf of a specified weight. The 
bread that fell short was forfeited to the poor. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 127 

As an aid to commerce the Colony granted the 
control of the shores of all the waters comprised 
within a township to the town itself. This led to 
the building of wharves and store houses, and 
added to the wealth of the town. 

In the midst of the progressing civilization we 
find occasional traces of barbarism. A slave had 
murdered his mistress with circumstances which 
aggravated the crime, and despairing of escape 
drowmed himself. A fortnight after his body 
came ashore at Little Compton, and "the Assem- 
bly ordered that his head, legs and arms should be 
hung up in some public place near Newport, and 
his body be burnt to ashes." 

We now meet the odious slave-trade, carefully 
watched over and protected by England as a 
source of wealth, but generally disliked by 
planters for ' ' the turbulent and unruly tem- 
pers" of its miserable victims. Rhode Island 
drew most of her slaves from Barbadoes at the rate 
of twenty or thirty a year, and sold them at the 
average price of from thirty to forty pounds each. 
The moral question had not yet come up, but 
according to the old record the trade did not 
flourish because the people "in general" pre- 
ferred white servants to black. 

In 1708 the first census was taken by order of 
the Board of Trade, giving for result seven thou- 
sand one hundred and eighty-one inhabitants, of 
whom one thousand and fifteen were freemen. 
The militia amounted to one thousand three 



128 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

hundred and sixty-two. There were fifty-six 
wiiite servants and four hundred and twenty-six 
black. 

In the same year we meet for the first time, 
"vendue masters" and public auctions. The 
subject of " a uniform value for foreign coins in 
the colonies" was discussed in Parliament, and 
made the subject of a circular letter from the 
Board of Trade. The increase of the settlements 
made it necessary to provide for the Indians. A 
committee was appointed to confer with Ninigret 
about lands for his tribe, the Mantles, and 
choose the site of a new town in Narragansett. 

I have already spoken of the judicial functions 
of the Assembly. They had increased so much 
that it was deemed necessary to impose a tax of 
two pounds upon every appellant before his case 
could be taken up. 

The reports to the Board of Trade and the com- 
mutation table of taxation throw much light 
upon the commercial and agricultural progress of 
the Colony. In the commutation roll Indian coin 
was rated at "two shillings a bushel, barley at one 
and eightpence, rye at two and sixpence, oats at 
fourteen pence, wheat at three shillings, and wool 
at ninepence a pound." From the statistical re- 
ports to the Board of Trade, we learn that the 
annual "exports sent to England by way of Bos- 
ton amounted to twenty thousand pounds ; that 
the principal direct trade was by the West Indies ; 
and that within the past twenty years the amount 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 129 

of shipping had increased six-fold/' Thi;^ in- 
crease it was said was owing to the saperioiity 
of the colonial shipwrights. 

Eighty -four vessels of all sizes had been built 
in the Colony within eleven years. The popula- 
tion was divided. Aquidneck " was taken up in 
small farms," and the young men took to the sea. 

In 1709 a printing press was set up in Newport 
and a public printer appointed. This pioneer 
printer was the son of a New York printer named 
Bradford, who offered to do the public printing 
of the Colony for lif ty pounds a 3^ear. The offer 
was accepted for one year. 

The war dragged heavily on, eating into the 
resources of the Colony and driving her to that 
most fatal of all expedients, the issue of paper 
money. A great expedition against Canada was 
planned, and failed. Rhode Island, which had 
been very active in raising men and supplies and 
had taxed herself liberally, shared the common 
disappointment. 

The next attempt was more successful. A fleet 
of twelve ships of war and twenty -four transports 
sailed from Nantasket roads on the 18th of Sep- 
tember, reached Port Royal in six days and took 
it after a short siege. The colonists were very 
happy. The name of Port Royal was changed 
to Annapolis, the city of Anna. The martial 
spirit of the colonies was roused and in the follow- 
ing year, 1711, they eagerly entered into the plans 
of the English ministry for the invasion of Can- 
9 



130 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

ada. But although the greatest exertions were 
made the expedition failed. 

Meanwhile the Assembly still continued its 
labor of legislation. The Court of Trials adopted 
the course which had been established two years 
before by the Court of Appeals, and began to 
charge a fee before entering a case upon the 
docket. Education was a subject of legislative 
interest. In Newport the public school was 
placed in charge of the town council, and pro- 
vision made for opening a Latin school under Mr. 
Galloway. Various other minor incidents show 
the progress of the Colony. Public highways 
were a subject of general attention in Newport. 
Providence, which lay on the bank of a naviga- 
ble river, was more directly interested in bridges. 
Names were given to the streets and alleys, and, 
as an element in the growth of the Colony, it 
may not be uninteresting to know that the iirst 
town crier was appointed in 1711. As an en- 
couragement to commerce all "river craf-t trading 
as far as Connecticut" were exempted from 
custom dues, and no fees were exacted for free 
goods. The profits of the navigation act, as has 
already been stated, had been seriously affected 
by clandestine traders. To guard against this 
evil a law was passed requiring "all persons res- 
ident for three months in the Colony and intend- 
ing to leave, to advertise their intention ten days 
before hand, so that their creditors might have 
due notice." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PAPER MONEY TROUBLES.— ESTABLISHMENT OF BANKS. — PRO- 
TECTION OF HOME INDUSTRIES. — PROPERTY QUALIFICA- 
TIONS FOR SUFFRAGE. 

The treaty of Utrecht gave peace to England 
and her dependencies, leaving them free to follow 
out the peaceful development of commerce and 
manufactures. War had brought on paper money, 
which was first issued to meet the expenses of the 
second expedition against Port Hoyal. This first 
issue was of five thousand pounds in bills of from 
five pounds to two shillings, equal in value as 
far as legislation could make them so, "to cur- 
rent silver of New England, eight shillings to the 
ounce. They were to be received in all payments 
due the treasury, to be redeemed in specie at the 
end of five years," fend meanwhile were secured 
by an "annual tax of a thousand pounds." To 
counterfeit or deface them was felony. Further 
issues of eight thousand pounds were made by the 
end of the war, and secured by new taxes. Thus 
was opened the great gulf which was to swallow 
the fruits of much laborious industry. 

The Assembly made another step towards its 
present form by electing a clerk outside the 
house. The pay of this first clerk was six shil- 
lings a day. 



132 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAIN^D. 

The military stores which had been collected 
during the war were divided into two classes. 
Those of a perishable nature were sold. The rest 
were carefully stored away to be ready for the 
chances of another w^ar. ''The cannon were 
tarred and laid on logs on the governor's wharf," 
The garrison of Fort Anne was dismissed. The 
labors of peace began. Increased attention was 
given to public highways. The old road which 
ran through the Colony from Pawtucket to Paw- 
catuck was repaired, and a new one opened to 
Plainlield through Warwick and West Green- 
wich. But in this the enterprise of the Colony 
outran its wants, and the new road was soon 
abandoned. 

As we follow the sessions of the Assembly we 
find acts for the repression of litigation renewed 
three times in ^ve years. The provision of the 
charter by which commissioned militia officers 
were to be elected by the Assembly had been 
neglected for more than a generation, and the elec- 
tions made by the towns. While the population 
was small and most of the inhabitants freemen 
this mode of election proved good. But with the 
increase of population disputes and difficulties 
arose, and in 1713 a new law was passed in accord- 
ance with the provisions of the charter. But 
after a short trial and, in spite of the protest of 
the governor and four assistants, the old law was 
revised. 

One of the difficult questions of legislation 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 133 

came before the Assembly of 1713. Merchants 
had exported grain too freely and the home 
market began to feel the drain. The Assembly 
interfered, and not only forbade further exporta- 
tion but set a tariff of prices for the markets of 
the Colony. An account of the stock of pro- 
visions in Newport was taken. The price of 
wheat was ten shillings and sixpence a bushel, 
of rye five shillings, of corn and barley four shil- 
lings, and of flour and biscuit thirty shillings a 
hundred. 

Among tha laws of trade which were passed at 
this time was a stringent law against peddlers, pro- 
hibiting them from selling dry goods under heavy 
penalties. But.the apple of discord which divided 
the^ 3:hole community was paper money. All 
New England Vv^as disturbed by it. In Massachu- 
setts there were three parties, each very bitter 
against the other. Smallest of the three was the 
hard money party, which insisted upon with- 
drawing the bills of credit and putting all busi- 
ness transactions upon a metallic basis. The 
other two were in favor of banks, but of banks 
founded upon very different principles. One 
advocating a private, the other a public bank 
system. By the former bills of credit secured 
upon real estate were to be issued by the com- 
pany and received by its members as money, but 
without any fixed relation to gold and silver. 
The other advocated a public bank, with bills to 
be loaned by government on mortgage of real 



134 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

estate and paying an annual interest for the 
support of government. Each party represented 
a distinct class. The hard money party was com- 
posed of men for the most part free from debt 
and ready to pay their way in cash. The private 
bank party were owners of real estate who were 
unable to use it to advantage for meeting their 
engagements. The hard money party after a 
severe struggle coalesced with these, and a "bank 
or loan of fifty thousand pounds" was estab- 
lished for five years. 
z/ In,JRhodeJsland^_there_were but two parties — 
the hard money party and the paper money 
party. The struggle was long and bitter, and 
ended by the adoption of the public bank system 
of Massachusetts. The contest was felt in the 
elections, each party striving to secure an Assem- 
bly favorable to itself. In the May election of 
1714 "the specie party triumphed." Twenty- 
two deputies out of twenty-eight lost their seats. 
An act had been passed requiring the treasurer 
to burn two thousand bills of credit. He diso- 
beyed and lost his place. Bills to the amount of 
one thousand one hundred and two pounds eight 
shillings and sixpence were collected and burnt. 

In the new election the paper money c[uestion 
still agitated the public mind. Only five out of 
the old members were returned to the Assembly. 
Of the assistants only one. Joseph Jenckes was 
chosen Deputy-Governor in the place of Henry 
Tew. So complete was the change that it was 



HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 135 

called 'A tlie great revolution." Yet amid all 
these changes Governor Cranston held his place. 

The death of Queen Anne and accession of 
George I. excited little attention in the colonies. 
South Carolina was suffering from the Yemassee 
war, which brought new emigrants to Hhode 
Island, and among them some females of Hugue- 
not origin who had their Indian slaves with 
them. Their coming seems to have been accept- 
able, for the Assembly upon petition remitted 
to them the importation tax. The population 
was not yet sufficient to protect farmers from 
wolves and foxes. The old bounty was increased, 
and rewards were offered by Portsmouth for 
blackbirds and crows, and by Providence for 
gray squirrels and rats. A few years later still 
higher bounties were offered for wild-cats and 
bears. 

The great public question was still the ques- 
tion of the bank, and we have already seen that 
the form adopted was that of public banks. In 
the July session of 1715 a bank or loan of thirty 
thousand pounds was established, which in a 
later session was raised to forty thousand. * ' Bills 
from five pounds to one shilling were issued and 
proportioned among the towns." AVhoever could 
give good mortgage security could claim a loan. 
But the interest instead of being secured by 
bond and mortgage was secured by bond alone, 
and thus the greater part of it was eventually 
lost, a very seriou s defect in the system, for it 



136 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

was from this interest that the bills were to be 
redeemed and the expenses of government paid. 
We shall meet this subject again, but never in a 
pleasant form. 

It is interesting to see by what devices the in- 
creasing wants of the Colony was met. Newport 
had wants of her own as "the metropolitan town 
of the Colony." The street leading to the Colony 
House needed paving, and to meet the expenses 
a grant was made of funds drawn from the duty 
on imported slaves. Other streets v/ere paved 
and a bridge built over Potowomut River by funds 
drawn from the same source. 

The criminal code also, grows with the Colony. 
Fraudulent voting is punished with fine, whipping 
or imprisonment. To facilitate detection every * 
voter was required to endorse his name in full on 
his ballot. A large proportion of the crimes in 
the Colony were committed by Indian slaves. 
The fear of punishment was an insufficient pro- 
tection against this class of criminals, and a law 
was passed prohibiting their introduction into 
the Colony. 

We have seen that Newport and Providence 
made early provision for schools. Portsmouth 
followed their example, and "having considered 
how excellent an ornament learning is to man- 
kind," madein 1716 an appropriation for build- 
ing a school- house. The experiment was suc- 
cessful, and six years later two others were built — 
one of them sixteen feet square, the other thirty 
by twenty-five. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 137 

It is deserving of remark that in this young 
society slander was not suffered to go unpun- 
ished. A Gabriel Bernon had brought a false 
accusation against one of the assistants. He was 
compelled to make " a written acknowledgment 
to the injured party," and ask pardon in wait- 
ing of the Assembly w^hicli he had treated with 
disrespect on his examination. 

The condition of the Indians called for legisla- 
tive interference. On the petition of Ninigret 
their lands w^ere taken under the protection of the 
Colony, and overseers appointed to lease them 
for the benefit of the tribe and remove trespassers. 
The following year an attempt w^as made to 
enforce temperance among them by increasing 
the difficulty of their obtaining liquor on credit. 

The militia law^ was revised from time to time 
and various changes introduced. In that of 1718 
the governor w^as styled " Cap tain -General and 
Commander-in-Chief," and the deputy -governor 
' ' Lieutenant- General. ' ' 

It will be remembered that colonial laws were 
required to conform as far as possible to English 
laws. The colonial legislatures put a large inter- 
pretation ujion this provision, and in providing 
for the estates of intestates modified materially 
the law^ of primogeniture. The eldest son, in- 
stead of the whole estate, received only a double 
share — one-third being given to the w4dow and 
the remainder divided among the children. 

The Board of Trade had repeatedly called for 



138 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

a complete copy of the laws, and the Assembly 
had appointed more than one committee to revise 
and i^rint them. It was not, however, till 1719 
that the work was taken seriously in hand. That 
it should have been printed in Boston shows how 
old prejudices w^ere passing away. This first 
edition was distributed among the towns and the 
Assembly. 

Boundary questions revive from time to time. 
The northern boundary gave rise to bitter discus- 
sions, and though often on the point of being 
decided, w^as not really brought to a decision for 
several years. The western boundary, also, had 
been practically decided in favor of Rhode Island. 
But this question, too, was reopened, and the 
uncertainties and inconveniences which such dis- 
putes engender idly prolonged to the sore annoy- 
ance of the inhabitants of the border. How im- 
perfectly the serious nature of the question was 
understood in England maybe seen by the propo- 
sition of the Privy Council that both Rhode 
Island and Connecticut should surrender their 
charters and be annexed to New Hampshire. It 
was not till 1727 that Westerly knew wliether she 
belonged to Connecticut or to Rhode Island. 

Protection begins about this time to manifest 
itself as essential to the success of domestic in- 
dustry. Acts also were passed for the protec- 
tion of river fisheries. The manufacture of nails 
and hemp duck were encouraged — nails by a loan 
and duck by a bounty. With the increase of x)op- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 139 

ulation new guarantees were required to secure 
purity of suffrage. In tlie winter of 1724 the free- 
hold act was passed "requiring a freehold qual- 
ification of the value of one hundred pounds, or 
an annual income of two pounds derived from 
real estate to enable any man to become a free- 
man." With modification of detail but none of 
principle, this law held its place on the statute 
book for a hundred and twenty years. ' ' Freemen 
of the towns who were not freemen of the Colony 
were allowed to vote for deputies." 

In 1721 a new bank or loan for forty thousand 
pounds was established upon the same principle 
as the first. Hemp and flax were received in 
payment of interest. Specie had become so 
scarce that an Englisli half-penn^^ passed for 
three half-pence, and it was soon manifest that 
the introduction of paper money had raised prices 
and encouraged speculation in land. 

But nothing occurred to break the monotony 
of colonial life so important as the capture in 
1723 of a pirate schooner and the trial of her 
crew by a court of admiralty. Twenty-six of the 
prisoners were condemned to death, hanged at 
Gravelly or Bull's Point, and buried on Goat 
Island between high and low water mark. 

One of the important events of 1722-3, and 
which must be considered as a favorable indica- 
tion of the increase of population was the 
division of Kingston into two towns. In 1724 
the failure of the crops led again to the prohibi- 



140 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

tion of the exportation of grain. Two thousand 
bushels of Indian corn were bought on public 
account and sold to the people at low prices. In 
Newport no one was allowed to have more than 
four bushels at a time — in the other towns not 
more than eight. The temperance question, also, 
began to attract attention at an early day, and 
various efforts were made to check drunkenness. 
Among them was an act prohibiting the selling 
of liquor to common drunkards, and to ensure the 
carrjing out of the act town councils were required 
to post in their own and the neighboring towns 
those who came under it. In nothing, however, 
was the progress of the Colony more evident than 
in the growth of the religious sentiments. The 
soul liberty of its founder had been mistaken 
for license. Towards the close of the seventeenth 
century Cotton Mather had written: "Rhode 
Island is a colluvies of Antinomians, Familists, 
Anabaptists, Anti- Sabbatarians, Arminians, So- 
cinians, Quakers, Ranters, everything in the 
world but Roman Catholics and true Christians." 
A quarter of a century later he wrote : ' ' Calvin- 
ists with Lutherans, Presbyterians with Episco- 
palians, Pedobaptists with Anabaptists, beliold- 
ing one another to fear God and work righteous- 
ness, do with delight sit down together at the 
same table of the Lord." In strict accordance 
with the fundamental principle of the Colony 
the pay of the clergy was made by voluntary 
contribution of their parishioners. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 141 

We have recorded the deaths of Williams and 
Clarke. In April, 1727, Governor Samuel Crans- 
ton followed them to the grave, leaving no public 
man so universally loved behind. 

It is a proof of the progress of the Colony that 
vagrants and "mad persons" began to be pro- 
vided for by law. Among the laws adopted from 
England at this period was the act of limitations 
for personal actions. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

OHANGE OF THE EXECUTIVE. — ACTS OF THE ASSEMBLY. — 
JOHN BERKELY'S residence IN NEWPORT.— FRIENDLY FEEL- 
ING BETWEEN THE COLONISTS AND THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 

Nearly a generation had passed since a new 
governor had been chosen, but the place made 
vacant by death was now to be filled. The choice 
fell upon Joseph Jenckes, (May, 1727.) He was 
a resident of Pawtucket, and in those days of 
irregular communication Pawtucket was too far 
from the seat of government for the prompt trans- 
action of public business. It was voted, there- 
fore, that; it was "highly necessary for the Gov- 
ernor of this Colony to live at Newport, the 
metropolis of the government," and a hundred 
pounds was appropriated for the expense of his 
removal. While the Colony was passing into the 
hands of a new executive a similar change was 
taking place in the mother country. George I. 
died suddenly, and George II. succeeded to the 
throne. 

But the change of sovereign brought no change 
with it in the policy of the mother country. The 
act of navigation was still the rule by which she 
measured her relations to the colonies. They 
were still to supply the raw material and she the 
profitable manufacture. 



HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 143 

The first eight years of George 11.' s reign were 
3^ears of peace. Party spirit in England ran high 
tinder the names of court and country, the first 
as supporters of tlie ministry, tlie second of par- 
liamentary opposition. But Sir Robert Walpole 
did not love war, and in the cabinet his voice was 
supreme. 

In the Colony we find the same indications of 
growth and development. The records of the 
Assembly are still our principal guide. The 
criminal code, the surest indication of the moral 
condition of the community, was revised. Intem- 
perance, in spite of repeated attempts to suppress 
it by legislation still seems to prevail, and in 
1728 a new license law was passed. Unforeseen 
crimes, also, sometimes call for special action. 
An Indian lad attempted to kill his master, a 
crime unforeseen in the code, and was branded on 
the forehead with the letter R., whipped at the 
cart tail at every street corner in Newport, and 
ordered to be sold out of the Colony for his un- 
expired term. A slanderous pamphlet was pub- 
licly burned by the town sergeant in front of the 
Colony House and the author compelled to make 
a written confession of his fault. 

The unsettled boundary lines though still 
causes of uneasiness and vexatious delays, are 
gradually approaching final decision. The con- 
troversy concerning the western boundary had 
lasted sixty-five years. More effectual means are 
employed to enforce the registry of births, mar- 



144 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

riages and deaths. Peddlers, the field of whose 
industry had already been reduced by previous 
statutes, were forbidden to sell any kind of goods 
under pain of forfeiture. Early attention is paid 
to the preservation of deer and the protection of 
fish. The planting of hemp and flax, and the 
manufacture of duck are again the subject of 
legislation, and receive increased bounties. James 
Franklin sets up a printing press in New^port 
after having failed to establish a newspaper in 
Boston. Not discouraged by his failure, he made 
a similar attempt at Newport with a similar 
result. He was in advance of his time. Impor- 
tant laws were enacted for the encouragement 
and regulation of trade. Spehlal officers were 
appointed for special departments. Lumber of 
every kind was placed under the protection of 
surveyors. Packed nieats and fish were ex- 
amined by viewers. Casks were measured by 
official surveyors. The whale and cod fisheries 
were encouraged by bounties. And to incite the 
efforts of honest but unfortunate men, bankrupt 
laws equally useful to creditor and debtor were 
established. 

Roads and bridges continue to call for legisla- 
tion. The Paw tuxet bridge had fallen to decay, 
and Rhode Island and Massachusetts united, first 
in pulling it down and soon after in building it 
up again. A new ferry was established between 
Portsmouth and Bristol. Lands in Westerly 
were set apart for an Indian house of worship. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. ^ 145 

Tlie fortifications of the Colony were not neg- 
lected. "A regular and beautiful fortification of 
stone" was built at Newport and the new King 
petitioned to give forty cannon for its armament. 

The records of the time tell of an earthquake 
which in October, 1727, was felt through New 
England, exciting much alarm but doing little 
damage — far less indeed than the attempt to 
build up commerce upon public loans and paper 
money. To this period also belongs the first ap- 
pearance of the Palatine Light, a curious electric 
phenomenon according to some, produced ac- 
cording to others by hydrogeneous gas, but 
believed by local superstition to be the phantom 
of a wrecked emigrant ship whose passengers 
had fallen prey to the avarice of her captain and 
crew. 

The Legislature continues its labor of law-mak- 
ing, and among its provisions is one prohibiting 
the manumission of slaves without bonds from 
the owner to prevent them from coming upon the 
town. Another act sets bounds to the authority 
of moderators in town meetings, and requires 
that any motion supported by seven freeholders 
shall be put to vote. Another requires that all 
money questions shall be announced in the call 
for the meeting. 

Among public annoyances w^e find Indian 

dances especially mentioned and the regulation 

of them referred to the town councils, and the 

selling or giving of intoxicating drinks upon the 

dancing ground strictly forbidden. 
10 



146 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

To meet the growth of the Colony a new divi- 
sion of it into three counties was made, and the 
judicial system altered to meet the change. 
"Each county was to have its court house and 
jail." The responsibility of public officers in- 
creases with the increase of the Colony in wealth. 
The public treasurer was required to give bonds 
to the amount of twenty thousand pounds and 
his salary raised first to one, and two years later 
to two hundred pounds. A distrust of lawyers 
found expression in the October session of 1729 
in an act forbidding them to serve as deputies. 
At the next session it was repealed and though 
never reenacted was more than once brought up 
for discussion. 

Among the eminent Englishmen of the first 
half of this century was George Berkeley, Dean 
of Derry, better known by his later title of 
Bishop of Cloyne, and still better by Pope's line : 

"To Berkeley every virtue under Heaven." 

He had taken high rank among the philoso- 
phers of his age by his new theory of vision and 
other writings in which he denied the existence 
of matter. Advancement in the church made 
him master of a large income, which he resolved 
to employ in the service of religion by founding 
a college in the Bermudas for the training of 
pastors for the colonial churches and missionaries 
to the Indians. The benevolent object failed 
through the failure of Lord Carteret to give him 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 147 

the aid of government. Instead, therefore, of 
establishing himself in Bermuda, he purchased a 
farm near Newport and built a house on it, which 
is still known by the name of Whitehall. He 
brought with him a choice library, a collection of 
pictures and a corps of literary men and artists, 
among them the painter Smibert, who thus be- 
came the teacher of Copley and West. 

The influence of such a man is quickly felt in 
a young community, and Berkeley soon gathered 
around him a body of cultivated men, who joined 
with him in the discussion of questions of philos- 
ophy and the collection of books. These books 
became the basis of the Redwood Library. Not 
far from his house among what the modern 
tourist knows as the hanging rocks is a natural 
alcove, which opening to the south and roofed 
with stone commands an extensive view of the 
ocean. Here, tradition says, Berkeley wrote his 
Alciphron or Minute Philosopher, which was 
printed in Newport by James Franklin. But 
Berkeley had lived too long among men of letters 
and in large cities to be contented with the 
limited resources of a colonial town, and after a 
residence in Newport of two years and a half, 
he returned to Europe and a broader field of use- 
fulness and honor. His library of eight hundred 
and eighty volumes he left to Yale. Brown Uni- 
versity was not yet established. 

Legislation begins to take notice of charitable 
institutions. Attention had already been called 



148 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

to the condition of the insane, and now a fund 
was formed for the relief of disabled sailors and 
their families by deducting sixpence a month 
from the wages of every seaman in active service. 
This money was paid over to the town in which 
he lived and which was bound to support him. 

The respect for the rights of conscience which 
forms the fundamental principle of the colonial 
polity, still meets us from time to time in some 
new application. In 1730 the militia law was 
modified for the protection of the Quakers. Pro- 
vision was also made for the protection of the 
Indians by an act requiring the assent of two 
justices of the peace to give validity to any bond 
of apprenticeship in which they were concerned. 

In 1730 the Board of Trade called for a census. 
The population was found to have increased six 
thousand in ten years — numbering fifteen thou- 
sand three hundred whites, sixteen hundred and 
fifty blacks, and nine hundred and eighty In- 
dians — nearly eighteen thousand in all, almost 
equally divided between the three counties. Of 
these eighteen thousand nearly nine hundred 
were enrolled in the militia. Providence was 
divided into four towns. 

The question of paper money still excited the 
Colony. Governor Jenckes was against it, but it 
was upheld by a majority of the Assembly. By 
September, 1731, one hundred and ninety-five 
thousand three hundred pounds had been issued 
in bills of credit, of which one hundred and 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 149 

twenty thousand pounds were still outstanding. 
Silver had risen from eight to twenty shillings an 
ounce. Yet such was the general infatuation 
that in this very year a new bank was voted of 
sixty thousand pounds. 

Yet trade increased and the Colony prospered. 
The shipping had risen in ten years from thirty- 
five hundred tons to five thousand, manned by 
four hundred men. Boston was the principal 
mart for supplies, but two ships came annually 
from England, two from Holland and the Medi- 
terranean, and ten or twelve from the West 
Indies. The exports which comprised live stock, 
logwood, lumber, fish and the products of the 
field and dairy, amounted to ten thousand pounds 
a year. The ordinary expenses of the government 
amounted to two thousand, the extraordinary 
to twenty-five hundred pounds a year, colonial 
currency. 

The paper money controversy had raised a 
question as to the governor' s power of veto. The 
law officers of the crown were consulted by the 
Board of Trade and declared that he had none. 
They decided also that the King himself had 
none. 

The publication of the laws had met a public 
want. The first edition was soon exhausted and 
a new one called for. For many years small 
pains were taken to secure accuracy in the text, 
the preparation of it being left to the clerk. A 
wide door was thus left open for interpolation, 



150 HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

and it was tlirongli this door that the clause 
against Roman Catholics, so contrary to the 
spirit and policy of the Colony crept into the 
statute — to be silently dropped as soon as atten- 
tion was called to it. 

We have already seen that provision had been 
made for the defence of the Colony by building a 
fort in Newport harbor. Additional provisions 
were made at the October session of 1732, by im- 
posing a duty of sixpence a ton upon all vessels 
that entered the harbor except fishermen. We 
have already seen that several attempts had been 
made for the suppression of intemperance, and 
apparently with little success. In 1732 another 
moral principle was made the subject of legisla- 
tion, and " these unlawful games called lotteries " 
suppressed by statute. We shall soon find them 
legalized and in some instances doiag the office of 
insurance companies. A more legitimate source 
of gain was found in the whale fishery, which was 
successfully encouraged by a premium. Whales 
were often taken in Narragansett Bay. But the 
first regular whaler that entered Newport harbor 
was owned by Benjamin Thurston, and brought 
a hundred and fourteen barrels of oil and two 
hundred pounds of bone. 

It was not till many trials had been made that 
a satisfactory regulation of the tenure of office 
was reached. On revising the statutes good be- 
havior was made the term of tenure for the 
judges and clerks of common pleas. But the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 151 

democratic element was too strong to allow this 
prolongation to gain a footing of authority, and 
a semi-annual election was soon substituted to 
the more conservative system. The deputies had 
been chosen semi-annually. In 1733 this also 
was changed to the whole year, but after a short 
trial changed back again to the half year. The 
first printed schedules were distributed in the 
summer of 1733. The October sessions were to 
be held alternately at Providence and South 
Kingstown. The certificates of election were care- 
fully scrutinized and irregular proxies rejected. 
In 1734 the House consisted of thirty-six deputies, 
ten assistants and three general officers, a secre- 
tary, attorney and treasurer. 

We have seen that vessels engaged in fishing 
were exempted from the harbor duty. As a further 
encouragement the first year's interest on the new 
loan was set apart for building a pier or harbor 
on Block Island. Westerly harbor was repaired. 
The river fisheries also came in for their share of 
protection, and dams or weirs were prohibited 
and no fishing except by hook and line permitted 
during three days in the week. The first session 
of the Assembly at East Greenwich was distin- 
guished by an act for the preservation of oysters, 
which the thoughtless inhabitants were burning 
in large quantities for lime. Important acts were 
passed for the regulation of mills. An attempt 
to cut through the beach on Block Island failed, 
and the old pier was enlarged. 



152 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

The close of Governor Jenckes's term of office 
was embarrassed by disputes arising from the 
paper money controversy. He declined a reelec- 
tion, and William Wanton, brother of the Deputy, 
was chosen in his stead. This was the only 
instance of brothers holding the two principal 
offices of the Colony at the same time. The dis- 
pute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island 
was referred to Commissioners from New York 
and Connecticut. No decision was reached, but 
the Assembly in acknowledgment of their ser- 
vices voted them three silver tankards of the 
value of fifty pounds each, with "the arms of 
Rhode Island handsomely engraved on them." 

We have seen that Massachusetts like Rhode 
Island had sought a temporary relief in the issue 
of paper money. The King interfered and the 
Massachusetts bills were withdrawn. This was a 
severe blow to Rhode Island, and hardly a less 
one to the tradesmen of Boston, whose relations 
with Rhode Island were very intimate. Various 
devices were recurred to for their protection, 
among them a combination to refuse to take 
Rhode Island bills in payment for goods. But 
the necessities of trade were too great. The com- 
bination gave way. Silver rose to twenty- seven 
shillings an ounce. Debts were paid at a loss to 
the creditor of thirty -three per cent. The future 
looked very dark. 

Attention was called to the security of mar- 
riage. Till 1733 none but Quakers or clergymen 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 153 

of the Church of England could perform the cere- 
mony. In 1733 authority to perform it was ex- 
tended by the Assembly to clergymen of every 
denomination. 

The death of Governor William Wanton, which 
occurred in 1733, produced a deep sensation 
throughout the Colony, where he was greatly 
respected for his civil and military services. Few 
colonists stood higher with the King. On a visit 
to England with his brother John, he was pre- 
sented by the Queen with a silver punch-bowl 
and salver and permitted to add a game-cock 
lighting on a hawk to his arms. On his death 
his brother, John Wanton, the Deputy-Governor, 
was chosen to fill his place. 

Education still forced its claims, and we find 
George Taylor successfully petitioning for leave 
to open a school in a chamber of the county 
house of Providence. Fifty years before the first 
school in Providence had been taught by William 
Turpin — of whom, unfortunately, we know only 
the name. 

From time to time come questions from the 
Board of Trade showing how carefully England 
watched over her revenues. In one the Colony 
was asked what revenue duties were laid upon 
British commerce. The impost on slaves brought 
from the West Indies had been removed by the 
King's orders, and Governor Wanton could 
answer that there were no duties affecting the 
direct commerce with England. Yet a conscious- 



154 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

ness of rights appears in more than one act of the 
Assembly. The Court of Vice-Admiralty some- 
times exceeded its legitimate authority and^tried 
causes over which it had no jurisdiction. This 
was a delicate matter for the colonial legislature 
to interfere in, for the court was appointed by the 
King. But without heeding this the Assembly 
conferred upon the Supreme Court the power of 
injunction. 

The small-pox was a frequent cause of alarm. 
In 1735-6 another fearful disease desolated New 
England. It was called the throat distemper,, 
and is described as ''a swelled throat, with white 
or asli-colored specks, an efflorescence on the skin,, 
great debility of the whole system and a strong 
tendency to putrefaction." No age was exempt 
from it, but it was most fatal among children. 

Roads and bridges as we have already seen 
had received early attention. Communication 
between the different parts of the Colony in- 
creased with the increase of population. In 1736- 
a line of stages with special privileges for seven 
years was established between Newport and Bos- 
ton. The natural development of trade was pre- 
paring the way for a closer union among the col- 
onies. Increased attention was given to the duties 
and privileges of citizenship. It is sad to find 
that laws against bribery at elections were called 
for at an early day. By those of 1736 both briber 
and bribed were fined double the sum offered or 
received and deprived for three years of the right 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 155 

to vote. Illegal voting was forbidden nnder the 
penalty of a fine of two pounds and disfranchise- 
ment for three years. 

The kindly feeling which the colonists cherished 
for the mother country sometimes received a prac- 
tical illustration. In the spring of 1737 His 
Majesty's ship Tartar lay in Newport harbor, and 
that she was a welcome visitor the Assembly 
proved by ordering that "a score of the best 
sheep that may be got be presented to her com- 
mander, Mathew Norris, for the use of the crew." 
None foresaw that the day would come when a 
British press gang would seize free citizens in this 
same harbor. 

The expenses of local government increased. 
To provide for this increase authority was given 
the towns to assess traders from abroad for a fair 
proportion of the outlays of the town. (Changes 
were also made in the mode of paying jurors. 
Hitherto they had been paid out of the treas- 
ury — a mode liable to abuses and attended with 
great inconvenience. It was voted that they 
should receive a fixed pay of six shillings a day 
and pay their own expenses. Public attention 
had been called early to protection from fires. 
As the population of the larger towns grew, 
better protection was required. In Newport two 
companies of firemen were organized, and to com- 
pensate them for their services they were ex- 
empted from serving on juries or in the militia. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

WAR WITH SPAIN.— NEW TAXES LEVIED BY ENGLAND.— 
RELIGIOUS AWAKENING AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

Events were preparing a closer union of 
the colonies. England declared war against 
Spain — a war of commercial rivalry, for Spain 
was a maritime power of the first class, and 
claimed the right of search. England sent out 
her ships of war and privateers, and carried on a 
lucrative contraband trade among the Spanish 
islands and on the Spanish main. The colonies 
were called upon to furnish their part of men and 
munitions of war, Khode Island sent out priva- 
teers and prepared to defend her harbors and 
coast. Fort George was put in fighting order and 
a garrison of fifty two men stationed there under 
Colonel John Cranston. New Shoreham was 
garrisoned and Block Island provided with six 
heavy guns. For the protection of the coast and 
shores of the bay seven watch-towers were 
erected and constant guard kept in them by 
night and by day. Five beacons were stationed 
between Block Island and Portsmouth to give 
warning of the first approach of danger, and the 
Colony's war sloop, the Tartar, of a hundred and 
fifteen tons burthen held in readiness for instant 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 157 

service. Newport merchants also entered actively 
into the game and sent ont in the second year of 
the vs^ar live privateers manned by live hundred 
men. 

A great expedition was preparing against the 
Spanish West Indies. Rhode Island's contingent 
was two companies of a hundred men each. The 
Newport company was commanded by Captain 
Joseph Sheffield, the Providence company by 
Captain William Hopkins. The Colony was 
proud of its work and feasted both officers and 
men before they set sail to join the British 
squadron at New York and bear their part in the 
disastrous attempt upon Carthagena. Meanwhile 
it had proved its mettle by taking a French 
contraband schooner and carrying her into New- 
port for adjudication. 

Rhode Island was loyal, loving the king and 
accepting the supremacy of Parliament. But she 
was quick to discriminate between usurpation 
and legal authority. The northern colonies car- 
ried on a lucrative commerce with the West 
Indies and particularly with the French Islands. 
Upon this trade England had imposed a heavy 
tax under the title of molasses act, and was pre- 
paring to increase it. The colonies protested. 
Newport dealt largely in the distilling of rum 
and was thus a great consumer of molasses. All 
looked alike to the trade with the islands for the 
means of paying for their importations from the 
mother country. But the objection did not stop 



158 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

here. Colonial development had reached the 
nnderlying j^rmciple of the revolution. Parlia- 
ment taxed Englishmen as their representative. 
But by what right could an English Parliament 
tax Americans ? 

Richard Partridge, the colonial agent, and a 
Quaker in faith, acting in the name of Rhode 
Island and other northern colonies, "strenuously 
opposed" the new restrictions, and the Assembly 
requested the Governor "to write to the neigh- 
boring governments, inviting them" to join in 
the opposition. Thus concerted action and the 
right of self-taxation begin to claim their legiti- 
mate place in colonial jDolity, and prepare the 
way for independence. In the midst of these agita- 
tions Governor John Wanton died. I have already 
spoken of him as of one of the great names of 
colonial history and happy as few public men 
are in the recognition of his deserts. He was 
elected Deput3^-Governor live times in succession 
and Governor seven. Deputy-Governor Richard 
Ward was chosen to fill his place, and William 
Greene was promoted to the place of Deputy- 
Governor made vacant by the promotion of 
Richard Ward. Henceforth these two names 
become prominent in Rhode Island history. 

Disease came with war. The small-pox broke 
out again. Portsmouth and Jamestown were 
compelled to call on the Assembly for aid and 
Dutch Island was used as quarantine ground. 
While the minds of the colonists were thus pre- 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 159 

pared for thoughts of suffering and death, George 
Whitefield came among them calling them to re- 
pentance and prayer. Crowds gathered round 
him to listen to his burning words, and all New 
England was filled with the fame of his eloquence. 
His disciples joined the Baptists who increased 
greatly in numbers and influence. Samuel Foth- 
ergill, also, the calm and persuasive Quaker, 
passed at this time a half year in Newport in the 
house of his brother-in-law, John Proud, and 
Quakerism throve under his gentle teaching as 
the Baptists throve under the fervid exhortations 
of Whitefield. 

The w^ar continued. Spain against whom it 
had been first directed formed an alliance with 
France, and the colonies were called upon for new 
exertions. Ten more cannon were mounted in 
Fort George which was enlarged to receive them. 
Ten new field-pieces were ordered. A brick mag- 
azine was bnilt for the safe keeping of powder 
and the supply of military stores was increased 
in every county. To secure promptness of action 
the Governor and Council together with the field 
officers and captains were formed into a perma- 
nent council of war. By a former act of the 
Assembly the men were allowed to choose their 
own officers. This act was repealed and the right 
of choice vested in the Legislature where the 
charter placed it. The drill system was incom- 
plete. A more thorough one was established and 
two more companies were raised in Newport. In 



160 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

the midst of these warlike preparations the rights 
of conscience were respected and those who were 
scrupulous about the shedding of blood were 
employed as scouts and guards, or required to 
furnish horses in case of sudden alarm, or do any 
other duty consistent with their religious scruples. 

The House of Commons ever Avatchful over the 
interests of British commerce, began to look 
with suspicion on the frequent "emissions of 
paper currency in His Majesty's colonies in 
America, in which Rhode Island has too large a 
share." An address to the King was followed by 
instructions to the colonial governors from the 
Board of Trade to transmit to the home govern- 
ment "an account of the tenor and amount of 
the bills of credit" issued by each colony, the 
times when they fell due, the number actually 
outstanding and their value in "money of Great 
Britain, both at the time such bills were issued 
and at the time of preparing the account." The 
Governor's opinion was also required upon the 
still more difficult subject of "sinking and dis- 
charging all such bills of credit." 

Governor Ward replied on the part of Rhode 
Island by an elaborate history of the colonial cur- 
rency and an able exposition of the causes and 
necessities from which it arose. Unfortunately 
these necessities still existed, and without heeding 
the warning implied by the action of the House 
of Commons the Assembly "created a new bank 
of twenty thousand pounds for ten years at four 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 161 

per cent." The paper issued under tliis act was 
called the new tenor, because unlike the earlier 
issues the bills bore on their faces the exact 
amount of gold and silver they were supposed to 
represent. Silver on the new tenor notes was 
rated at six shillings and ninepence sterling, gold 
at five pounds an ounce, and thus the value of 
a new tenor bill was four times that of an old 
tenor bill. The seeds of bankruptcy were thickly 
so wn Jn bo th . 

The question of the eastern boundary line, one 
of the bitterest of the many disputes with Mas- 
sachusetts, had after several vain attempts to come 
to an amicable agreement, been referred, in 1741, 
to a royal commission. With the decision of 
this commission neither party was altogether 
satisfied, Massachusetts claiming a great deal 
and Rhode Island something more than it 
awarded them. Both parties appealed. But the 
commission adhered to its decision, and the line 
fixed by it continued to be the boundary between 
the two colonies till after the adoption of the 
Federal constitution. 



11 



CHAPTEE XX. 

PEOGRESS OF THE WAR WITH THE FRENCH.— CHAKGE IN THE 
JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS. — SENSE OF COMMON INTER- 
EST DEVELOPING AMONG THE COLONISTS. — LOUISBURG 
CAPTURED. 

War still continued to give its stern coloring 
to legislation. The Tartar was held ready for 
instant service. The Governor and his council 
were vested with the power of laying an em- 
bargo upon outward bound vessels. Speculation 
turned seaward, and the money which in peace 
would have been employed in building up com- 
merce and manufactures was spent upon priva- 
teers. 

Still the interests of peace were not altogether 
neglected. The productive enterprise which was 
to raise Rhode Island so high in the list of man- 
ufacturing states, was already awakened, and as 
early as 1741 James Greene and his associates 
petitioned the Assembly for permission to build 
a dam across the south branch of Pawtuxet river 
and lay the foundation of those iron works which 
in the sequel became so celebrated throughout 
the colonies. Population was increasing. The 
large townships became too large for the demands 
of local government and weie divided. Thus 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 163 

Greenwich, carrying out the suggestions of its 
position, was divided into East and West. About 
the same time Warwick was divided and a new 
township set out under the name of Coventry. 
In the next year North Kingstown was divided and 
the Town of Exeter incorporated, and a year later 
the country district of Newport, which was sep- 
arated from the town by thick w^oods, was incor- 
porated as Middle town. The territorial struggle 
was nearly over and Rhode Island was settling 
dowm into its permanent proportions. The sched- 
ules still continue to record the progress of 
organization as experience called for new changes. 
The office of attorney-general was abolished and 
a King's attorney for every county appointed 
Instead. A Court of Equity composed of five 
judges, annually elected by the Assembl}^, was 
formed to try all causes of appeal in personal 
actions from the Superior Court to the General 
Assembly — a course which "by long experience 
had been found prejudicial." To draw closer the 
ties of loyalty a form of prayer for the royal 
family was sent from England to be read in every 
religious assembly throughout the colonies as a 
part of public worship. 

The dissensions with Connecticut concerning 
the western boundary had taken a new form. 
The line, as the reader will remember, had been 
drawn and marked by competent authority. A 
committee appointed by Connecticut displaced 
the bound at the southwest corner of Warwick. 



164 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

The Rhode Island Assembly sent surveyors to 
examine the ground and restore the line. This 
outrage was repeated twice. 

The history of the war does not belong to the 
histor}^ of Rhode Island, although the spirit 
engendered by it led to the formation of some 
militar}^ institutions. Among these was the 
JNTewport Artillery, which was chartered in 1741, 
and is still one of the best disciplined corps in 
the State. 

I have spoken of the substitution of King's 
attorneys to attorneys-general. It was made in 
the hope of enforcing the payment of interest 
bonds. But after a short trial the original form 
was resumed. The root of the evil was too deep. 
Another of the chronic evils of paper money" 
vexed the Colony sorely. Counterfeit bills fol- 
lowed close upon the issue of genuine bills, and 
the Colony was flooded with bad money. 

The Court of Equity was not continued long, 
and many other changes of brief duration were 
made in various branches of government. But 
what deserves especial mention is the instinctive 
perception with which Rhode Island detected the 
slightest invasion of her chartered rights and the 
courage with which she defended them. The 
clerkship of the naval office in Newport was 
claimed by one Leonard Lockman in virtue of a 
royal commission. The claim was referred to a 
committee which reported "that His Majesty 
was mistaken in said grant " which belonged to 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 165 

the Governor, who alone was responsible for the 
conduct of that officer. The question of custom 
fees and vice-admiralty fees was brought for- 
ward about the same time, and "the undoubted 
right of the General Assembly to state the fees of 
all officers and courts within the Colony" boldly 
asserted. 

The expenses of the war still increased, strain- 
ing the resources of the Colony to the utmost. 
Questions of organization were still rising, but 
the question of finance was the most difficult of 
all. New bills were issued with reckless profu- 
sion, and various devices adopted for the relief of 
the exchequer. Several bounties, and among 
them the bounties on hemp and oil, were with- 
drawn. The tonnage duty upon all vessels enter- 
ing the Colony was revived. The lottery so wisely 
condemned in 1738 was legalized in 1744. Wey- 
bosset bridge was built by lottery. 

The great military event of the campaign of 
1745 was the capture of Louisburg by colonial 
troops. In this gallant feat of arms which fills so 
bright a page of colonial annals Rhode Island 
bore her part— especially through the Tartar, 
which, supported by two other war sloops, de- 
feated at Famme Goose Bay a flotilla which was 
advancing with large reinforcements to the relief 
of the enemy. Captain Fones, who commanded 
the Tartar in this memorable campaign, has not 
received the honorable mention to which he Avas 
entitled for his gallantry and skill. 



166 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

New exertions were required for securing Louis- 
burg, and the colonies were again called upon 
to furnish men and supplies. In this also Rhode 
Island bore her part, propping as best she might 
her tottering treasury and using impressment 
for raising men. When the war was over Eng- 
land acknowledged her services by special grants. 

In this year Rhode Island lost one of her faith- 
ful sons, Colonel John Cranston, son of the pop- 
ular Governor, and commander of her forces at 
the capture of Port Royal. Towards the close of 
the year another great loss, though of another 
kind, fell upon the Colony. Two new privateers, 
mounting twenty- two guns each, with crews of 
over two hundred men went to sea the day before 
Christmas in a gale of wind and were never heard 
of again. Privateers held a place in war then 
which they do not hold now, and there was bitter 
sorrowing in more than two hundred households 
when the months passed away and no tidings of 
husband or father or brother came. 

The success of the expedition against Louis- 
burg increased the desire to carry the war into 
Canada. Commissioners from the colonies were 
invited to meet and take council together concern- 
ing the common interest. Here we meet for the 
first time the names of Stephen Hopkins and 
William Eller}^ whose names stand side by side 
on the Declaration of Independence, which is 
already drawing nigh. The sense of common 
interest and mutual dependence gradually gains 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 167 

ground. Every exertion was made to call out 
the strength of the Colony. Popular feeling went 
with government and strengthened its hand for 
the great contest. Canada and Indian warfare 
were inseparably connected in the minds of the* 
people, who, to rid themselves of the dreaded 
enemy submitted cheerfully to what they would 
otherwise have resisted as tyranny. Impress- 
ment was authorized by the Assembly. 

In the midst of these efforts depreciation was 
undermining the strength and corrupting the 
moral sense of the community. The property 
tax of freemen had doubled. Bribery and fraud- 
ulent voting gained ground, and an attempt was 
again made to meet them by increasing the sever- 
ity of the law. Every voter and every officer was 
required to declare under oath that he had neither 
taken nor offered a bribe ; and a single fraudulent 
vote was sufficient to invalidate an election. The 
evidence of the briber held good against the 
bribed ; and that the law might not be forgotten 
it vras ordered to be "read in town meeting at 
every semi-annual election for five years and the 
name of every transgressor stricken from the roll 
of freemen. ' ' 

Again, the vacillation of the ministry defeated 
the expedition against Canada. Then came tid- 
ings of a great French armada which was com- 
ing to the conquest of New Engand. Great v^as 
the alarm of the colonies. But help came from 
another quarter. Disease and tempest scattered 



168 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

and infected the hostile fleet. One commander 
died. His successor committed suicide, and the 
shattered remnants of the unfortunate armada 
had hard work to make their way back to the 
French coast. 

Before the tidings of this disaster could reach 
New England it had been resolved to send rein- 
forcements to the succor of Annapolis Royal, 
the supposed point of attack. The Rhode Island 
troops sailed early in November. The Massachu- 
setts troops soon followed. Both were overtaken 
by heavy gales which cast some of them ashore at 
Mt. Desert. Some, like their adversaries, the 
French, were crippled by disease and a few made 
their way to the nearest port. Winter set in and 
the campaign of 1746 closed in gloom. 

This was the year in which the royal decree 
concerning the eastern boundary was enforced. 
Rhode Island gained by it a large accession of 
territory — the towns of Bristol, Tiverton, Little 
Compton, Warren and Cumberland, which were 
incorporated and brought under the control of 
Rhode Island laws. Thus ten new deputies were 
added to the colonial representation. Thus, also, 
a revision of the judicial and military system of 
the Colony became necessary, and a new court 
was established under the title of Superior Court 
of Judicature, Court of Assize and General Jail 
Delivery, and consisting of a chief-justice and 
four associate justices annually chosen by the 
Assembly. The judicial powers of the assistants 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 169 

or upper house of Assembly ceased, though tliey 
still continued to act as a court of probate. Two 
militia companies were formed in Tiverton and 
one in each of the other new towns. 

The previous history of the new towns belongs 
to Massachusetts and Plymouth. Their annexa- 
tion to Rhode Island brought her an increase of 
about four thousand inhabitants, well trained 
most of them in the tenets of religious freedom. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

ATTEMPT TO RETURN TO SPECIE PAYMENTS. — CHANGES IN THE 
REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP. — NEW COUNTIES AND 
TOWNS FORMED. — FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.— WARD AND 
HOPKINS CONTEST.— ESTABLISHMENT OF NEWSPAPERS. 

The war was almost over, although privateers 
still endangered maritime commerce. First an 
armistice was agreed upon for four months and 
then peace was signed at Aix la Chapelle, on the 
30th of April, 1748. It was a welcome peace 
although the war had brought lessons with it 
which were never forgotten. The men who had 
fought at Louisburg were looked upon as veter- 
ans, and when the final struggle came brought 
experience to the service of the revolting colonies. 
Parliament, well aware of the readiness with which 
the colonies had contributed to the support of 
the war both by men and by money, made them a 
grant of eight hundred thousand pounds as an 
indemnity. Rhode Island's share for the expe- 
dition against Cape Breton v^as six thousand 
three hundred and twenty-two pounds twelve 
shillings and tenpence ; for the expedition 
against Canada, ten thousand one hundred and 
forty-four pounds nine shillings and sixpence. 
But deductions were afterwards made in a cavil- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 171 

ing spirit whicli excited bitter feelings. Still 
more irritating to colonial pride was the article 
restoring to France her conquered territories, for 
among them was Louisbnrg. Of the right of 
search, the original cause of the war, no mention 
was made, a precedent not forgotten in the war 
of 1812. Now was the time to heal the wound 
which paper money had inllicted upon the com- 
merce of the country. Hutchinson, an aspiring 
young statesman of Massachusetts, formed a plan 
for sinking the paper money and restoring specie 
payment by means of this grant. Massachusetts 
after a long discussion, wisely adopted Hutchin- 
son's plan. Rhode Island and Connecticut re- 
jected it. Rhode Island presently felt the con- 
sequences of her error by the loss of her West 
India trade. 

The records of the labors of peace again fill 
the schedules. Charlestown was divided into two 
towns and the name of Richmond given to the 
portion north of Pawcatuck river. The commu- 
nications between the different parts of the Colony 
were carefully watched over. There were already 
nineteen ferries when peace returned, and of 
these thirteen served to keep up the connection 
with the seat of government. 

The year before the peace the first public 
library in the Colony, the Redwood Library, was 
founded. It was fruit of the good tree planted 
by Berkeley. In 1754 Providence followed the 
noble example and founded the Providence Li- 



172 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

braiy Association. In the following year we find 
another attempt to enforce a moral law^ by legis- 
lative enactment. The act against swearing was 
revised, and a fine of five shillings or three hours 
in the stocks imposed as a penalty for every 
ofi:'ence. 

The increase of population called for a revision 
of the statute of legal residence. "New comers 
were required to give a month's notice of intention 
to become residents, after which if they remained 
one year without being warned to leave they were 
admitted as lawful inhabitants of the town." A 
freehold estate of thirty pounds sterling also 
gave a legal residence. "Apprentices having 
served their time in any town, might elect their 
residence there, or return to the place of their 
birth. Paupers not having acquired a legal set- 
tlement might be removed by the councils on 
complaint of the overseer of the poor, to the 
place of their last legal residence or to that of 
their birth." So careful was the watch kept 
over the conditions and privileges of citizenship. 
The Board of Trade called for a new census. 
"The population was found to consist of thirty- 
four thousand one hundred and twenty-eight 
souls, of whom twenty-nine thousand seven hun- 
dred and fifty were whites, the remainder blacks 
and Indians. Newport contained forty-six hun- 
dred and forty souls. Providence thirty-four hun- 
dred and fifty-two." 

The lottery had taken a strong hold upon the 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 173 

innate love of cliance. The two first lotteries had 
been applied to public improvements. The third 
was formed for the relief of an insolvent debtor. 
Henceforth we meet it as a common relief in busi- 
ness misfortunes and a natural assistant in new 
enterprises. 

The winter of 1748-49 was made memorable in 
Rhode Island annals by the death of John Cal- 
lender, her first historian and pastor of the First 
Baptist Church in Newport. Among the public 
works of the year which the growing commerce 
of the Colony called for, was a light-house at the 
south end of Conanicut, still known as Beaver Tail 
Light. 

Depreciation began to make itself deeply felt 
as the interests of English commerce became more 
and more interwoven with those of colonial com- 
merce. Their raw products were the only articles 
that the colonies could give in exchange for Eng- 
lish manufactures. Their West India trade was 
their only source of coin. Colonial bills out of 
the colonies were worthless. The subject was 
brought before the House of Commons, which 
called for a full and accurate statement of the 
condition of the currency. A committee was ap- 
pointed by the Assembly to prepare the state- 
ment, and Partridge the colonial agent directed 
to present and support it. By this report it was 
shown that three hundred and twelve thousand 
three hundred pounds in bills of credit, emitted 
to supply the treasury since May, 1710, of which 



174 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

one hundred and seventy-seven thousand had 
been burned at various times and one hundred 
and thirty-five thousand pounds were still out- 
standing, amounting in all in sterling money to 
about thirty-six thousand pounds. 

An interesting incident of this year was the 
organization of a Moravian mission. 

The statute book records several new criminal 
statutes. It is an illustration of domestic rela- 
tions that tlie first divorce was granted by the 
Assembly in 1754 — more than a hundred years 
after the foundation of the Colony. And it may 
be taken as proof of the feelings of the Colonj^ 
towards England, that a large number of English 
statutes were transferred to the colonial statute 
book. New precautions against fire were taken 
in Newport by the formation of firewards, and a 
fire engine was sent for from England. Provi- 
dence soon followed the example. Another step 
was taken towards a satisfactory distribution of 
the territory by forming East and West Green- 
wich, Coventry and Warwick into a new county 
under the name of Kent County, with East Green- 
wich for its county town. The new county was 
required to build a court house at its own ex- 
pense, which was partly done by lottery. Four 
years later another town was formed from Provi- 
dence County and incorporated under the name of 
Cranston. In spite of the increased depreciation 
of the currency the Colony continued to grow in 
numbers and strength. Seventeen hundred and 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 175 

fifty-two was made memorable both in England 
and lier colonies by the adoption of the Gregorian 
calendar. Henceforth the new year begins on the 
first of January instead of the twenty -fifth of 
March. 

But the great event of the year was the decision 
of the lawsuit for the possession of the glebe 
lands in Narragansett, a suit of nearly thirty 
years standing, and which after passing through 
many phases was decided in favor of the Congre- 
gationalists against the Episcopalians, upon the 
ground that "by the Rhode Island charter all 
denominations w^ere orthodox, and that a majority 
of the grantors when the deed took effect were 
Presbyterians or Congregationalists." 

Meanwhile paper money was doing its bad 
work. The calendar of private petitions bears 
sad witness to the evil. Bankruptcy became 
frequent, and among the bankrupts of those days 
of gloom was Joseph Whipple, the Deputy- Gov- 
ernor, who, surrendering all his property to his 
creditors was relieved by a special act of insol- 
vency. The spirit of enterprise though dulled, 
was not crushed. 

The first recorded patent was granted in 1753. 
Parliament had passed an act to encourage the 
making of potash in the colonies, and Moses 
Lopez took out a patent for making it for ten 
years by a process known only to himself. The 
next year a similar patent was granted to James 
Koo:ers for the manufacture of pearl-ash. The 



176 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAIS^D. 

industrial instinct which was to receive in the 
sequel so great a development, was already gird- 
ing itself up for the trial. The spirit of asso- 
ciation, also, was awakening. A society of sea- 
captains was incorporated for mutual assistance 
under the name of the Fellowship Club. From 
this grew the Newport Marine Society. 

A new war was at hand, a war known to our 
childhood as the old French war, and the last 
waged by France and England for the dominion 
of North America. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 
had left the door wide open for new claims, and 
these soon led to a new war. Here again Rhode 
Island displayed great energy, sending Stephen 
Hopkins and Martin Howard, Jr., to represent her 
as Commissioners at the Albany Congress of 1754, 
in which Franklin brought forward his plan for 
developing by union the resources of the colonies, 
she took promptly the steps necessary for her 
own defence and complied cheerfull}^ with the 
requisitions of the English commanders. In this 
as in former wars she sent out her privateers to 
harrass the enemy's commerce. But her part in 
the contest was a limited one. Her troops went 
as contingents not as armies. She had no gen- 
erals to give their names to great victories, and 
when peace returned her soldiers and sailors re- 
turned cheerfully to the duties and avocations of 
common life. 

The annexation of the eastern towns in 1757 
marks an important period in the history of 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 177 

Rhode Island. With two unfriendly neighbors 
on each side she had been compelled to contend 
inch by inch for her territory. All the obstacles 
which impede development had accumulated in 
her path. All the dangers which menace the ex- 
istence of feeble colonies had beset her. She had 
faced them all, she had overcome them all. A 
great principle lay at the root of her civilization, 
and humanity itself was inseparably connected 
with her success. 

From the annexation of the eastern towns in 
1757 to the peace of Paris in 1763, all the leading 
events w^ere more or less connected with the war. 
Privateering took the place of commerce. Taxes 
were levied to build and arm forts and raise and 
equip soldiers, not to erect churches and court 
houses and libraries and schools. 

The war was lingering but decisive. It gave 
England one brilliant victory and one illustrious 
name — the Heights of Abraham, and Wolf — to the 
colonies the lesson so valuable a few years later 
that English troops might be driven where colo- 
nists held their ground, and the name of Wash- 
ington. Recorded in European history as the 
seven years war, for the colonies it was a war of 
nine years, hostilities having begun two years be- 
fore war was declared. Nowhere is man's place 
in history more distinctly marked than in this 
war, which till the right man came was a suc- 
cession of blunders and defeats. With William 
Pitt came victory. 

12 



178 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

While the war was still confined to the colonies 
a large number of French residents had been 
thrown into jail as prisoners of war. What was 
their legal position I The question was brought 
before the Assembly by a petition for release, 
which was so far granted as to authorize their 
transportation to some neutral port, and so far 
rejected as to still subject them to the laws of 
war. 

We have seen how watchful the home govern- 
ment was to enforce the laws of trade. But 
with all its watchfulness smuggling still prevailed 
in every colony. New orders came from the 
King directing the Assembly to "pass effectual 
laws for prohibiting all trade and commerce with 
the French, and for preventing the exportation of 
provisions of all kinds to any of their islands or 
colonies." The Assemblj^ passed the necessary 
aQts. But too many and too pow^erful interests 
were involved to admit of their rigorous execution. 

To this period belongs the bitterest party con- 
test in the annals of Khode Island, generally 
known as the Ward and Hopkins contest. Sam- 
uel Ward and Stephen Hopkins were the fore- 
most Rhode Islanders of their time ; both men 
of self-acquired culture and both illustrious by 
public services. Hopkins was the elder of the 
two, being born at Scituate on the 7tli of March, 
1717. Ward was his junior by eighteen years. 
Both were farmers and merchants, and both sin- 
cerely devoted to the interests of their native Col- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 179 

ony. But as to what those interests were they 
dilfered widely, and their difference soon took the 
form of town and country parties. Newport was 
the leading town of the Colony, not only in com- 
mercial enterprise but in intellectual culture. 
Berkeley had not left his foot-prints therein vain. 
This seat of Rhode Island culture was best rep- 
resented by Samuel Ward. The name of Hop- 
kins stood for the country. The distribution of 
taxes was one of the questions at issue. Paper 
money was another. By degrees all questions of 
public policy were classed under the one or the 
other of these two leading names. There were 
sharp contests at the polls, painful severings of 
social ties and all the bitterness which partisan- 
ship gives to political discussion. At last the 
aid of the law was invoked and Hopkins sued 
Ward for slander. It is a singular illustration of 
the altered relations between Rhode Island and 
Massachusetts that in order to obtain an impar- 
tial jury the trial should have taken place at 
Worcester. Ward was acquitted and Hopkins 
condemned to pay the costs. In a few years the 
party contest gave way to the graver contest of 
the Revolution wherein the two leaders took their 
seats side by side in Congress Hall. 

Among the events of domestic interest which 
belong to this period was the burning of the 
Providence Court House — not so much for the 
loss of the building as for that of the Providence 
Library which was kept in one of its rooms. The 



180 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

want of a public library was keenly felt, and when 
a lottery was granted for rebuilding the court 
house, half of its proceeds were set apart for the 
library. Rhode Island already felt the importance 
of libraries and schools. She will persevere in this 
course till it secures her a comprehensive school 
system and an admirable university. 

The theatre found less favor, although its 
founder, David Douglass, brought with him the 
recommendation. of the Governor and Council of 
Virginia. His first application for a licence in 
Newport failed ; a second was more successful ; 
and this pioneer of the American stage drew for 
a while good houses. He moved to Providence 
and built a permanent theatre. Many came from 
Boston to seek an enjoyment which they could 
not find at home. But the current soon turned. 
The Bostonians met with a cold reception, and the 
short-lived pleasure was condemned as a nuisance. 

A newspaper was a want more generally ac- 
knowledged. Hitherto there had been none in 
the Colony. But in the summer of 1758 the New- 
port Mercury was established, and has held its 
ground with varying fortunes to our own day. 
Four years later William Goddard established 
in Providence the Promdence Gazette and Coun- 
try Journal. Among its first contributors was 
Governor Hopkins, who began for it his "Ac- 
count of Providence," but called to other sub- 
jects by the excitement of the times he never 
went beyond the first chapter. Enough, how- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 181 

ever, was published to call out several insulting 
letters from Massachusetts. 

Times were daily becoming more and more 
critical. The Board of Trade insisted upon the 
rigorous enforcement of the navigation act. The 
colonial governments passed the necessary laws 
but could not enforce them. It was then that 
writs of assistance were first called for, and from 
this call arose that trial so celebrated in colonial 
annals, the first mutterings of the tempest which 
was at hand. James Otis became a familiar name 
throughout the colonies. 

For thirty-four years the Quaker diplomatist, 
E-ichard Partridge, had faithfully and skillfully 
served Rhode Island as her agent in London. 
In 1759 mindful to the last of the interests of 
the Colony, he wrote on his death bed to recom- 
mend a brother Quaker, Joseph Sherwood, for his 
successor. 

In this same year freemasonry was introduced, 
a charter was granted by the Assembly with per- 
mission to raise twenty-four hundred dollars by 
lottery for building a hall in Newport. 

We have seen how early attention was called 
to the subject of fires. In 1759 the immediate 
action at fires was placed under the direction of 
five presidents of firewards, three of whom were 
elected at annual town meetings with authority 
to blow up buildings if necessary in order "to 
stop the progress of the flames." These details 
though minute, serve to show how far our fathers 



182 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

carried their ideas of the powers and duties of 
government. 

The increase of population called for a new 
division of territory. In 1757 Westerly was 
divided and its northern portion incorporated 
under the name of Hopkinton, a choice of name 
which shows that in that legislature the Hopkins 
party was in the majority. Two years later the 
new town of Johnston was formed out of Provi- 
dence and named after the attornej^-general. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

RETROSPECT.— ENCROACHMENTS OF ENGLAND.— RESISTANCE 
TO THE REVENUE LAWS. — STAMP ACT.— SECOND CONGRESS 
OF COLONIES MET IN NEW YORK. — EDUCATIONAL INTEREST. 

Thus far we liave traced the progress of Rhode 
Island, step by step from the first small settle- 
ment on the banks of the Mooshausick to the 
flourishing Colony, which, by its firmness and 
perseverance had made it mistress of the shores 
and islands of Narragansett Bay. We have seen 
it taking for its corner stone a vital principle of 
human society, unrecognized as yet by the most 
advanced civilization. We have seen this princi- 
ple and society with it constantly endangered by 
misinterpretations, and the little Colony brought 
more than once to the brink of the precipice by 
the malignity of implacable enemies. We have 
seen it gradually growing in strength and en- 
lightenment, drawing abundant harvests from a 
niggard soil, spreading its ships of commerce 
over distant seas and protecting its coasts by its 
own ships of war. We have seen it working out 
its civil organization by patient experiment, mak- 
ing laws and unmaking them as they met or 
failed to meet the want for which they were 
made. And now we shall see her strong by vir- 



184: HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

tue, resolute by conviction and rich by intelligent 
industry, giid herself up for the contest which 
was to decide forever the relations of the British 
colonies of North America to their mother coun- 
try. But before we enter upon this part of our 
subject let us pause a moment and consider some- 
what more closely our new starting point. 

The society which Roger Williams brought 
with him to the banks of the Mooshausick was a 
morally constituted society, in which all the 
questions of moral law had been studied and dis- 
cussed as revealed in the Scriptures. It was not 
till their numbers increased and their wants with 
them that the idea of law took root amongst them 
and they became a legally constituted society. 
Their laws arose from their necessities and fol- 
lowed the development of their legal sense. They 
felt the want and strove by experiment to discover 
the remedy. Successful experiment became law 
and the statute book the record of the progress 
of civilization. 

To this statute book, therefore, we must go for 
our knowledge of colonial life in all its relations. 
It defines the condition of the individual and the 
qualifications, the rights and the duties of the 
citizen. It defines the powers and prerogatives 
of government, and assigns to each department 
its limits and its sphere. Its enumeration of crime 
is the key to the moral sense of the community, 
and its provisions lor the moral and intellectual 
training of the citizen show how far it has com- 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 185 

preliended tlie reciprocal obligations and true 
nature of tlie ties which bind the citizen to his 
commonwealth. 

Following this guide we find that Rhode Island 
has w^orked out her problem of self-government 
and soul liberty, framing for herself a pure de- 
mocracy and surrounding it with all the pro- 
visions required for protection against foreign 
violence and internal dissension. After many 
trials she has organized a judiciary system ade- 
quate to the protection of person and property 
and the prompt administration of justice. She 
has cultivated the sense of right and wrong and 
made careful provision for the enforcement of 
contracts and the punishment of crimes. She has 
opened highways, established ferries and built 
bridges. She has favored navigation by the in- 
stitution of judicious harbor laws. She has pro- 
vided for the extermination of wolves and foxes 
by the offer of liberal bounties, and for the pro- 
tection of fish and deer by stringent laws. She 
has broached the difficult subject of public char- 
ities and made a beginning of provision for the 
poor and the insane. She has initiated a system 
of public schools and founded a college which in 
the course of half a. century becomes a univer- 
sity. She has opened her doors wide for differ- 
ent creeds, and required only that they all should 
be equally free. 

Her relations with the mother country had 
taken their coloring from the attitude of self- 
defence which she was compelled to maintain 



186 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

towards the adjacent colonies of Massaclm setts 
and Connecticut, which were eager to divide her 
territory between them. Against their long per- 
secutions her last appeal was to the King, and 
she made it without humbling herself, for her 
enemy was at her own door and of her own house- 
hold. 

From the beginning of her civil life she had 
been contemptuously refused admission to the 
lea2:ue from which Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut derived the strength that made them bold 
both for aggression and for defence. More than 
once sJie seemed to be upon tlie point of being 
crushed, but of yielding — never. Hence in her 
relations with the mother country she never 
assumed the defiant attitude which her stronger 
sisters assumed and which at an early day awak- 
ened suspicions of their loyalty. Rhode Island 
was loyal as it behooved her to be ; but she never 
carried her loyalty so far as to imperil the rights 
guaranteed to her by her charter. 

We enter upon a new period of colonial history. 
The contest with France w^as over. The contest 
with England was beginning. For England, not 
satisfied with the advantage which she had de- 
rived from her colonies by constitutional means, 
resolved to deprive them of the protection which 
the constitution accorded to the humblest subject 
of the crown. They would gladly have contrib- 
uted their portion to the expenses of the war and 
taxed themselves to pay it. But English constitu- 
tional law had prescribed the forms and conditions 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 187 

with which taxes could be raised, and colonial 
constitutional law taught that representation was 
an essential condition of taxation. This led to the 
stamp act and that train of disasters so fatal to 
English supremacy. 

Equally fatal was the ill-timed jealousy with 
which she sought to fetter the commerce and 
check the manufacturing spirit of the colonists. 
It was from their commerce with the French 
islands that they drew not only many articles 
which habit had made essential to their comfort, 
but the greater part of their hard money. To 
England they sent their raw material, and receiv- 
ing it back in the shape of manufactured goods 
paid liberally for the English labor and skill. 
England's best customers were her colonies. 

War had been a severe school in which much 
needed lessons had been learned. Farmers and 
mechanics had learned to be soldiers and bear the 
hardships of a soldier' s life. Taxes had increased 
and legislation had been compelled to busy itself 
largely with questions of military organization, 
with the building of forts, the raising of recruits, 
the providing of supplies. Maritime enterprise 
had lost none of its ardor, but had encountered 
sore rebuffs. From the port of Providence alone 
forty nine vessels richly laden had fallen into 
the hands of the enemy. On the land, also, 
many valuable lives had been lost and many in- 
dustrious hands taken from the tilling of the soil 
to waste their strength in the barren offices of 



188 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

war. The time when these lessons would be 
turned to account was drawing nigh. 

Meanwhile internal improvements continued to 
receive the attention of the legislature. Church's 
Harbor was made safer for fishermen by the erec- 
tion of a breakwater. Providence Cove was the 
seat of a prosperous trade, and especially of ship- 
building. To facilitate the communication with 
the water below a draw was opened in Wey- 
bosset bridge. 

The cancer of paper money was still eating 
into the vitals of the community, in spite of the 
legislative palliatives which were from time to 
time fruitlessly applied to it. Party spirit also 
had reached its fullest development, and the two 
rival factions of Ward and Hopkins continued to 
hate each other bitterly and light each other ob- 
stinately at the polls. These were minor evils. 
But in the great northwest new war clouds were 
gathering under the influence of the mighty Pon- 
tiac, its king and lord. Parliament prepared for 
the outbreak, and voted an appropriation of a 
hundred and thirty-three thousand pounds and an 
army of ten thousand men for the defence of the 
American colonies. The regulars were sent against 
the Indians and parts of the provincials were dis- 
tributed through the frontier garrisons. The 
Rhode Islanders were stationed at Fort Stanwix. 
We are spared the story of the war of Pontiac. 
It belongs to the frontier and is in no way con- 
nected with Rhode Island history. Another con- 



HISTORY OF. RHODE ISLAND. 189 

test on which hung the fate of all the colonies is 
already begun. 

I have often spoken of the Board of Trade and 
the jealous scrutiny with which it watched the 
growth of the colonies. Too short-sighted to see 
that their prosperity was intimately connected 
with the prosperity of the mother country, the 
ministry by advice of the Board of Trade di'ew 
tight the bands of commerce and encumbered 
the communications of the two countries with 
dangerous restraints. Trade had increased, but 
the revenue had not increased in its natural pro- 
portion. The form of the evil was smuggling, but 
its root was the imposition of oppressive duties. 
Walpole alone had seen forty years before that 
the surest way to enlarge the revenue was to 
make the importation of the raw material and 
the exportation of the manufactured goods as 
easy as possible. But Walpole stood alone in 
his wisdom. An attempt was made to enforce 
the acts of trade. New officers were appointed, 
a ship of war was stationed in Newport harbor 
during the winter of 1763 and the noisome tribe of 
revenue officers stimulated to zealous exertion. 

In 1739 a heavy blow had been dealt the com- 
mercial and manufacturing industry of the colo- 
nies by the molasses and sugar act, imposing a 
duty on those articles which looked very much 
like taxation. The colonists looked anxiously to 
1764 when the odious act would expire by limita- 
tion. But when the time came it was promptly 



190 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

renewed and extended to other articles of domes- 
tic consumption. And now was first heard the 
ominous words stamp act and committees of cor- 
respondence. By the stamp act no legal or com- 
mercial act was valid unless it was written on 
stamped paper. The price of this paper was 
fixed by government and a body of agents ap- 
pointed to carry on the sale. Thus every transac- 
tion in which there was a legal form became 
tributary to government. In what does this 
differ from taxation without representation ? 
asked the colonists. But so little did government 
comprehend the real nature of what it was doing 
that instead of foreseeing the collision of the two 
constitutions Parliament assumed by a formal 
vote the right to tax the colonits. All that re- 
monstrance could gain was a postponement of the 
stamp act till some more acceptable form of im- 
post could be devised. Even the colonial agents 
in London failed to see that a radical change in 
the relations of the two countries was at hand. 
"The sun of liberty is set," wrote Franklin from 
London to Charles Thompson at Philadelphia. 
"The Americans must light the candles of in- 
dustry and economy." 

"They will light a very dilferent kind of can- 
dle," was the reply. 

The spirit of resistance gained strength daily. 
Massachusetts took the lead in recommending 
the call of a Congress of Delegates to meet at New 
York and take counsel concerning the condition 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 191 

of the couiitiy. Rhode Island followed close in 
her footsteps. In Virginia Patrick Henry brought 
forward a series of resolutions which going di- 
rectly to the fundamental principles of constitu- 
tional taxation found adherents everywhere. In 
Providence the Gazette reappeared in an extra 
number with ^'vox populi vox DeV for super- 
scription, and "where the Spirit of the Lord is 
there is Liberty," for motto. Augustus Johnston, 
the attorney-general, was appointed stamp distrib- 
utor, but refused to "execute his office against 
the will of our sovereign Lord the People." 

In Newport riots took place and popular feel- 
ing manifested itself with extreme violence. The 
effigies of three obnoxious citizens were kept 
hanging on a gallows in front of the court house 
through the day, and in the evening cut down 
and burned in the presence of a great crowd. Next 
morning the violence of the mob increased, the 
obnoxious three and equally obnoxious revenue 
officers were compelled to take refuge on board 
the Cygnet sloop-of-war that was lying in the 
harbor. 

Meanwhile a calm, firm voice came from the 
soberer and more thoughtful citizens assembled 
in town meeting, instructing their deputies to 
give their "utmost attention to those important 
objects, the court of admiralty and the act for 

levying stamp duties." " It is for 

liberty, that liberty for which our fathers fought, 



192 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

that liberty which is dearer to a generous mind 
than life itself that we now contend." 

The day for the enforcement of the stamp act 
came. But the Congress at New York and the 
town meetings and assemblies of the different 
colonies had done their w^ork thoroughly. In a 
session of the Assembly held at East Greenwich, 
Rhode Island declared her intention to assert her 
"rights and privileges with becoming freedom 

and spirit, and to express these 

sentiments in the strongest manner." Six ener- 
getic resolutions were passed pointing unequivo- 
cally at independence if grievances were not re- 
dressed. The grave duty of representing her in 
the New York Congress was entrusted to Henry 
Ward, colonial secretary, and Metcalf Bowler. 
Governor Ward, Governor Fitch, of Connecticut, 
and the Royal Governors were called upon to 
make oath that they would support the obnoxious 
act. Samuel Ward alone refused. 

The fatal day came, and with its inauspicious 
dawn legal life ceased. Ships lay idle at the 
wharves for want of clearance. Merchants could 
not fill an invoice, the officers of the law could 
not enforce its decrees. Men and women could not 
marry or be given in marriage. Civil life was para- 
lyzed in all its functions. Whither will this lead 
us ? was the question that rose to every lip. It 
was soon evident that the colonies were terribly in 
earnest. They would rely upon personal honesty 
and do without stamps. Mobs and riots showed 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 193 

to what lengths the heated popular mind was 
prepared to go. Engagements to suspend all 
commercial intercourse with England and employ 
their means in fostering their own manufactures 
and productions manifested an intelligent union 
of purpose which could not be mistaken. Of the 
stamp distributors some resigned, some refused 
to act. Throughout the whole countr}^, in town 
and village not a stamp was to be found, not an 
agent dared to receive or sell the hateful ware. 
England bowed to the blast and repealed the act, 
but as if to leave the way open for future taxa- 
tion coupled the appeal with an act declaring that 
Parliament had a right "to bind the colonies in 
all cases whatsoever." The wound was salved 
over, not healed. 

There were other subjects of collision. We 
have seen that British ships of war visiting New- 
port harbor were sometimes welcomed. Some- 
times, however, they were held to strict account 
for their conduct. Lieutenant Hill, of the schooner 
St. John, was fired into from Fort George for some 
unrecorded offence. In the following year the 
Maidstone roused the indignation of the inhabi- 
tants by impressing seamen openly in the harbor. 
Even market boats were stopped and their men 
taken violently from them. A ship from the 
coast was boarded as she entered the harbor and 
her crew impressed. Popular forbearance could 
go no further. In the evening a mob of sailors 
five hundred strong seized one of the Maidstone's 

13 



194 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND, 

boats and burned it on the common. The way 
was opening for tlie burning of the Gaspee. 

Meanwhile there were great rejoicings over the 
repeal of the stamp act. Very soon men will 
begin to look closely to the act that was tacked 
to it — the declaratory act. 

The great step towards securing the concurrent 
action of the colonies in their resistance was 
taken. On the 7tli of October, 1765, the second 
colonial Congress met in I^ew York, and after a 
three weeks earnest discussion sent forth an ad- 
dress to the King, an address to the people, and 
a memorial to both houses of Parliament, claim- 
ing that as Englishmen they could not be taxed 
without their own consent or deprived of the 
right of trial by jury. It was soon made evident 
that the country would stand by them. Associ- 
ations were formed under the name of "Sons of 
Liberty." Khode Island went a step further, and 
formed associations of the "Daughters of Lib- 
erty." Hitherto the correspondence with the 
colonies had been conducted by the Board of 
Trade. But as the dispute assumed a more defi- 
nite shape, the infatuated King, who was reso- 
lutely persisting in his unconstitutional scheme 
of personal government, gave orders that the 
colonial dispatches should be addressed to him. 

It has been seen that Parliament had resolved 
to indemnify the colonies for their expenses dur- 
ing the late war. Several payments for this pur- 
pose had already been made. But after the stamp 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 195 

act riots the balance though voted was withheld 
under the pretext that the sufferers by those 
riots should first be indemnified for their losses. 
As the Colony had exerted itself beyond its 
strength to bear its part in the war, this with- 
holding of its just compensation was felt to be a 
great wrong. When the day for summing up 
her share in the common grievances came, Rhode 
Island did not forget this wrong. 

Taxes continued to excite bitter complaints, and 
thougli called for to meet the daily w^ants of gov- 
ernment, were not collected without great diffi- 
culty. In 1767 this dissatisfaction reached its 
height, unseating Governor Ward and working a 
complete political revolution. A new valuation 
of ratable property was made to serve as the basis 
of a just taxation, but was opposed as favoring 
trade at the expense of the landholders. 

Among the laws demanded by the growing 
trade was an act fixing interest at six per cent., 
and making contracts for higher rates usmy to 
be punished by the forfeiture of principal and 
interest. The true nature of money loans was 
not yet understood. Among the important civil 
acts of this'period was the completion of an elab- 
orate digest of the laws, two hundred copies of 
which were printed and distributed among the 

people. 

We have seen that early attention was given to 
education, and schools opened in Newport, Ports- 
mouth and Providence. In 1766 a grammar 



196 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

school was founded in Exeter upon a gift of ^ve 
hundred acres of land made seventy years before 
by Samuel Sewall, of Boston, one of the original 
purchasers of Pettaquamscot. But more impor- 
tant still was the effort that was made about the 
same time for the establishment of free schools 
in Providence to be supported by taxation. Like 
all such movements it met with most opposition 
where such schools were most needed, among the 
poor. In part, however, it was successful, a brick 
school-house was built and the supervision of all 
the schools given to a committee of nine, com- 
posed in part of the town council. 

The foundation of a university, chiefly in 
order to secure for Baptists the same educational 
advantages that were enjoyed by other denomi- 
nations, also belongs to this period. Foremost 
among its founders was the Rev. Morgan Ed- 
wards, and among its benefactors John Brown, of 
Providence, in record of whose liberality it was 
removed from Warren, its first seat, to Provi- 
dence, and its name changed from Rhode Island 
College to Brown University. Four denomina- 
tions were represented in its corporation, but a 
large majority reserved to its founders, the Bap- 
tists. Religious tests were forbidden by charter, 
but the president was required to be a Baptist. 
Its property and all those connected officially 
with it were exempted from taxation. 

To the ecclesiastical history of this period be- 
longs the Warren Association of Baptist Churches. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 197 

The pen also claims its part in the discussion of 
rights, and among the causes of the rupture we 
must count the "Farmer's Letters," among its 
instruments committees of correspondence. 

Among the things effecting the material inter- 
ests of the Colony was the discovery of a new 
bed of iron ore on the Pawtuxet River, in Crans- 
ton. In the preparations which were immedi- 
ately made for working it, the rights of the fish, 
which had so often been the subject of legislation, 
were not forgotten. 



OHAPTEE XXIII. 

TRANSIT OF VENUS.— A STRONG DISLIKE TO ENGLAND MORE 
OPENLY EXPRESSED. — NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENT. — 
INTRODUCTION OF SLAVES PROHIBITED.— CAPTURE OF THE 
GASPEE. 

The feud of tlie two parties wMcli had so long 
divided the Colony ceased at the approach of 
danger from abroad. A new Governor was elected, 
Josias Lyndon, and a new Deputy-Governor, 
Nicholas Cooke, whose name meets us so honor- 
ably during the first years of the war, now close 
at hand. For Ward and Hopkins a broader field 
of honorable rivalry was opening, and we shall 
soon see them working earnestly together in the 
Congress of the Declaration. 

England had grown very angry over the at- 
tempts of the colonies to organize a system of 
concerted action. But the times were full of 
lessons, and the chief est and most heeded among 
them was the lesson of union. The Parliament 
of 1761 was as blind as its predecessors had been, 
and came together firmly resolved to chastise the 
Americans into obedience. Where both sides 
were equally suspicious and equally embittered 
positive collision could not long be avoided. The 
first occurred in Newport harbor between three 



HISTORY OF KIIODE ISLAND. 199 

midshipmen of the Senegal man-of-war which 
was lying in the harbor, and some of the citizens. 
A citizen, Henry Sparker, was rnn through the 
body by an officer named Thomas Careless. Care- 
less was indicted for murder, but acquitted on 
trial by the Superior Court on the plea of self- 
defence. Collisions occurred at Boston, all of 
which served to fan the flame of discontent. To 
hasten the crisis a regiment supported by a naval 
force was sent to overawe the rebellious town. 

At the June session of the General Assembly 
(1758) an address was voted to John Dickinson 
for his ' ' Letters of a Farmer. ' ' In closing it they 
'•hope that the conduct of the colonies on this 
occasion will be peaceable, prudent, firm and 
joint. ' ' Resistance was becoming a familiar idea, 
and one of the most significant ways of express- 
ing it was by liberty trees. A large elm in front 
of Olney's tavern, in Providence, was dedicated 
in the presence of an enthusiastic crowd, and an 
oration embodying the popular sentiment pro- 
nounced by Silas Downer. 

In the September session several important 
State papers were prepared, and the withholding 
of the war money complained of as a great injus- 
tice. Still in the midst of this growing disloyalty 
the King was always spoken of with aifection and 
respect. 

While attention was thus anxiously directed 
to England, purely domestic interests were not 
forgotten. The deputy-governor's salary was 



200 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

fixed at fifteen pounds, half that of the gov- 
ernor. An educational society was incorporated 
at Providence under the name of Whipple Hall. 
Laws relative to real estate were passed, making 
it liable for debt after the death of the holder. 
School and church lands were exempted from 
taxation, and Trinity Church, in Newport, was in- 
corporated, the first incorporation of a church in 
Rhode Island, An act was passed, also, wherein 
the old policy of protecting the river fish was 
changed, and the Scituate Furnace Company al- 
lowed to keep up the dam in the spring. In a 
previous year a general estimate of ratable 
estates had been ordered. In 1769 it was re- 
ported and found to amount to two million one 
hundred and eleven thousand two hundred and 
ninety-five pounds ten shillings and sevenpence, 
or seven million thirty-seven thousand six hun- 
dred and fifty-two dollars, at the current value 
of lawful money, six shillings to a dollar, which 
was made by statute the basis of taxation 

This was the year of the transit of Yenus, to 
which astronomers were looking forward with 
deep interest. In this band of observers Rhode 
Island was represented by Governor Hopkins and 
other unprofessional scientists in Providence, and 
by Ezra Stiles of ]N"ewport — and here we again 
meet the name of Abraham Redwood, who was 
never either governor or deputy-governor, but 
still lives in fresh remembrance as founder of the 
Redwood Library, He furnished the instruments 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 201 

for the Newport observation. The local memory 
of this event is still preserved in Providence by 
the name of the street in which the observatory 
stood. The latitude of Providence was found to 
be 41°, 50', 41" ; its longitude 71°, 16' west from 
Greenwich. 

Meanwhile the current w^as daily sitting more 
decidedly towards armed resistance. Opinions 
w^hich four years before had been cautiously 
whispered in corners, now formed the chief topic 
of declamation in every private and public gather- 
ing. Virginia passed unanimously another series 
of resolutions more decided than the first, and 
sent copies of them to every colonial assembly. 
Khode Island thanked her through the Governor. 
The Wilkes riots in London strengthened the 
hands of the opposition, and Lord Hillsborough 
gave assurance at a meeting of several colonial 
agents that the idea ot* drawing a revenue from 
America had been given up, and the offensive 
revenue act would in all but the tax on tea be 
repealed. Ministers failed to see that it was an 
inherent right, not a sum of money for which 
the colonists were contending. And in this con- 
tention they were prepared to go all lengths. 

There was smuggling it was true, and thereby 
a constant loss to the revenue, but the method of 
enforcing the revenue laws was vexatious and 
intolerable to a free people. The officers em- 
ployed in collecting the revenue belonged to a 
class immemoriably odious, and even where the 



202 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

collection was entrusted to officers of the Royal 
Navy it was condiicted with an insolence and dis- 
regard of the rights and feelings of the colonists 
which made it doubly odious. Things had 
already reached the pass at which compromises 
become impossible. Either the King or the peo- 
ple must yield. Fortanately for mankind victory 
was where the young fresh life lay, with the 
colonists. 

Among those who had made themselves most 
offensive in their endeavors to suppress the con- 
traband trade was Captain William Reid, of the 
armed sloop Liberty, which was cruising in quest 
of smugglers in Long Island Sound and Narra- 
gansett Bay. Under the pretext of putting down 
illicit trade he had sorely annoyed legitimate 
commerce. After bearing with his annoyances 
till they could be borne no longer, the people of 
Newport seized his vessel, scuttled and sank her, 
cut down her mast and burnt her boat. This was 
the first overt act of the War of Independence. 
Proclamations were issued and rewards offered, 
but the offenders were never detected. Another 
wrong inflicted by the revenue officers was in 
claiming higher fees than were allowed by law. 
After bearing this also till their patience gave 
out, the merchants of Newport banded together 
to resist the imposition. 

The question of renewing the non-importation 
agreement came up for decision. New York, 
which on this occasion had taken the lead, was 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 203 

for extending them ' ' indefinitely until every 
portion of the revenue act shall be repealed." 
Boston followed the example. In Providence 
and throughout the country opinion was divided, 
but after much discussion nearly all concurred 
in admitting everything but tea, and Newport 
brought down the indignation of the other colo- 
nies upon her by admitting prohibited articles. 

In these same days the chronicle records a 
murrain among the cattle and hydrophobia among 
the dogs. From the first, relief was sought by 
forbidding the exportation of cattle from the 
island, from the last by giving general leave to 
kill all dogs running at large. These acts were 
to hold good for four months. 

This was the period of Newport's greatest 
prosperity. Her population was over eleven 
thousand. She had seventeen manufactories of 
sperm oil and candles, five rope-walks, three 
sugar refineries, one brewery and twenty-two dis- 
tilleries of rum, an article which in those days 
was deemed essential to the health of the sailor 
and the soldier, and all hard working men. Her 
foreign commerce found employment for nearly 
two hundred ships, her domestic trade for be- 
tween three and four hundred coasting craft. A 
regular line of packets kept open her communi- 
cations with London for passengers and mails. 
Her society had never lost the intellectual im 
pulse given it by Berkeley. Ezra Stiles, the most 
learned American of his day, filled one of her 



204 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

pulpits, Samuel Hopkins, the founder of a new 
school of theology, another. A public library, 
which still bears the name of its founder, fur- 
nished the means of literary recreation and re- 
search. She would gladly have drawn Rhode 
Island College to herself also, but though great 
efforts were made to bring this about Providence 
made the better offer and obtained the preference. 

While this question v^as still under discussion 
the first Commencement came round. Seven 
young men, clad like their officers in the products 
of American looms, presented themselves for 
graduation. It was a holiday in which all citi- 
zens could heartily unite, for it was the only one 
which brought them together in the gratification 
of a common pride. Commencement Day and 
Election Day continued to be the gathering days 
of the Colony long after the Colony had become 
a State. 

The greater part of the slaves of the Colony 
were in Newport, and special laws were enacted 
concerning their general treatment and their man- 
umission. In the autumn session of 1770 these 
laws were revised, and a bill introduced prohibit- 
ing their further importation. Unfortunately 
this movement went no farther. The evil had 
struck too deep. 

There was a lull in the storm. Even men not 
used to indulge vain hopes began to think that 
the cloud which had so long darkened the hori- 
zon might pass away. The revenue acts were 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 205 

still the chief obstacles to harmony. Smugglers 
were as bold and as successful as ever. But 
nothing occurred in 1771 to show that the final 
rupture was so near. Rhode Island's peculiar 
grievance was the old war debt- To make one 
more effort, Henry Marchant, the new attorney- 
general, was directed to join Sherwood in enforcing 
the claim. Another old question was also revived, 
that of the northern boundary. Among the acts 
of the Assembly was a new bankrupt law. The 
evils of a paper currency still continued to bear 
their fruit. 

But one of the most dangerous movements of 
this year was a claim advanced by Governor 
Hutchinson to the command of the Rhode Island 
forts and militia. This claim Rhode Island had 
contested when advanced by former governors, 
nor was she disposed to yield to it now. Still 
less was she disposed to accept a proposal 
which at this time came from Bristol under the 
signature, "A Friend to Property," to divide 
Rhode Island between Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut, or ask that she should be made a royal 
government upon the ground that "an elective 
legislature must always be a source of disorder 
and corruption " in a small state. 

That Rhode Island was not disorderly nor cor- 
rupt was proved by the conduct of her courts. 
A merchant of Wrentham named David Hill 
was detected by the New York Committee of In- 
spection "in selling goods included in the non- 



206 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

importation agreements." By the persuasion of 
the committee he was prevailed upon "to deposit 
his goods with a merchant till the revenue acts 
should be repealed." But the suspicions of the 
people were excited, and they seized the goods 
and destroyed them. Hill finding in Rhode 
Island ' ' property belonging to some of the com- 
mittee," sued them in the Rhode Island courts, 
asserting that in giving up his goods he had acted 
upon compulsion. The sympathies of the courts 
and the people were against him. But, guided 
by the law and the evidence the Court of Common 
Pleas awarded him heavy damages and the Su- 
perior Court confirmed the award. In the next 
year when a new election came round and the 
voice of the people was heard, they also con- 
firmed it by reelecting the same men for judges. 
These righteous judges were Stephen Hopkins, 
James Helme, Benoni Hall, Metcalf Bowler and 
Stephen Potter. 

While these things were a doing the insolence 
of the officials employed in enforcing the revenue 
laws reached its highest point. The suppression 
of smuggling in Narragansett Bay was entrusted 
to Lieutenant Duddingston, of the Royal l^^avy, 
with two armed vessels — the Gaspee, a schooner 
of eight guns, and the Beaver. Not contented 
with performing the duties of his office, still 
vexatious even when considerately executed, he 
multiplied its annoyances by a thousand acts of 
petty tyranny. He stopped vessels of every 



HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 207 

kind witlioiit discrimination— ships jnst from 
sea, and market boats on their way to Providence 
and Newport with their perishable freights, and 
to increase the indignity refnsed to show his 
commission or the authority by which he acted. 
Admiral Montague, who commanded on the sta- 
tion, justified him in his oppression. Complaints 
were sent to England, but the day of complaint 
was past. 

On the 8th of June the sloop Hannah, Benja- 
min Lindsey, master, arrived at Newport from 
New York, and having reported at the custom 
house set sail the next day for Providence. No 
sooner was she seen from the deck of the Gaspee 
than the watchful servant of the King gave chase, 
and venturing too near a point which ran out 
from the right bank of the river took ground. 
Captain Lindsey kept on his course with the wel- 
come tidings that the common enemy was at bay. 
At the beat of the drum the exasperated citizens 
came crowding to the gathering place, James 
Sabin's house in South Main Street. Eight long 
boats with five oars each were manned. Powder 
was prepared and bullets run, and when night set 
in with its friendly shades the resolute band set 
forth on its mission of vengeance. 

It was long after midnight when they came 
within sight of the doomed vessel hard set in 
the sand, and heard the first hoarse challenge of 
the guard. Without heeding it they dashed for- 
ward and as a second challenge came were at her 



208 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

side. Dnddingston sprang upon the gunwale — 
lie had no time to dress, no time to arm himself 
or call his men to quarters — but as he stood full 
in view his figure caught the eye of Joseph Buck- 
lin who was standing on one of the main thAvarts. 
"Eph.," said Bucklin to Ephraim Bowen, who 
was sitting on the thwart on which Bucklin was 
standing and who lived to tell the story in his 
eighty-sixth year, "reach me your gun, I can 
kill that fellow." As Eph. was reaching him the 
gun, Whipple, one of the leaders was beginning 
to answer Duddingston's hail : — "I am the sheriff 
of the County of Kent, God damn you," — but 
while he was yet speaking Bucklin fired and 
Duddingston fell, wounded in the stomach. The 
surprise was complete. The crew with their 
wounded commander were sent ashore and the 
vessel burned to the w^ater's edge. 

Who were these bold men? Everybody in 
Providence knew ; but although large rewards 
were offered for their detection and a special tri- 
bunal formed to try them, nobody was ever found 
to bear witness against them. So deep were the 
feelings that prepared the way for the separa- 
tion from England. 



OHAPTEE XXIV. 

PROPOSITION FOR THE UNION OF THE COLONIES. — ACTIVE 
MEASURES TAKEN LOOKING TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE.— 
DELEGATES ELECTED TO CONGRESS. — DESTRUCTION OF TEA 
AT PROVIDENCE.— TROOPS RAISED.— POSTAL SYSTEM ES- 
TABLISHED. — DEPREDATIONS OF THE BRITISH.— '* GOD SAVE 
THE UNITED COLONIES." 

The 22d of June, 1772, was memorable in the 
history of humanity, for it was on that day that 
Mansfield solemnly declared as Lord Chief-Jus- 
tice of England that slavery could not exist on 
English soil. This declaration met with a hearty 
response in Rhode Island. On the 17tli of May, 
1774, the citizens of Providence met in town 
meeting to take counsel together upon the ques- 
tions of the day. Two resolves of this meeting 
stand fitly side by side. An intestate estate 
comprising six slaves had fallen to the town. 
In the meeting it was voted that it was "unbe- 
coming the character of freemen to enslave the 
said negroes, that personal liberty was an essen- 
tial part of the natural rights of mankind, and 
that the Assembly should be petitioned to pro- 
hibit the further importation of slaves, and to 
declare that all negroes born in the Colony should 
be free after a certain age." 

14 



210 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

In the June session of 1774 the question was 
brought before the Assembly. ' ' Those ' ' says the 
preamble, "who are desirous of enjoying all the 
advantages of liberty themselves, should be will- 
ing to extend personal liberty to others." . . . 
Therefore, says the bill, "for the future no negro 
or mulatto slave shall be brought into this Col- 
ony." To perfect the act clauses were added 
defining the condition of slaves in transit with 
their masters, and protecting the Colony against 
pauper freedmen. 

Having taken this high ground concerning the 
individual, they took ground equally noble con- 
cerning the Colony, "resolving that the deputies 
of this town be requested to use their influence 
at the approaching session of the General Assem- 
bly of this Colony for promoting a Congress, as 
soon as may be, of the representatives of the 
general assemblies of the several colonies and 
provinces of North America for establishing the 
firmest union, and adopting such measures as to 
them shall appear the most effectual to answer 
that important purpose, and to agree upon 
proper methods for executing the same." Thus 
in Rhode Island the condemnation of slavery and 
the call for union went hand in hand. 

The time for hesitation was past. Event came 
crowding upon event. Virginia, also, called for 
a Congress. But it was on Boston chiefly tJiat 
all eyes were fixed. Her example had strength- 
ened the hands of the discontented, and both the 



HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 211 

King and his Parliament had resolved to make 
her a warning example of royal indignation. For 
this the bill closing her port and cutting off her 
commerce and known in history as the Boston 
Port Bill was passed. It was to go into opera- 
tion the 1st of June, 1774. Never did a great 
wrong awaken a more universal resentment. Old 
jealousies and rivalries were forgotten in the sense 
of a common danger. On the 1st of June the 
voice of mourning and commiseration was heard 
throughout the land. Virginia set it apart as a 
day of fasting and prayers. From every Colony 
came contributions in sheep and oxen and money. 
Rhode Island sent eight hundred and sixty sheep, 
thirteen oxen, four hundred and seventeen pounds 
in money. Boston in this day of suffering was 
for her no longer the Boston of the Atherton 
Comj)any and disputed boundary lines. 

But intelligent as Rhode Island had proved 
herself in her political measures, she could not 
altogether raise herself above the ignorance of 
her age in sanitary measures. The small-pox 
was in Newport, and inoculation was still an 
undecided question. Should the legislature be 
asked to declare for it or against it ? After four 
days of discussion it was decided in the negative 
by a close vote. 

We have already seen that a special tribunal 
had been organized to follow up the question of 
the Gaspee. In its instructions directions were 
given to send their prisoners to England for trial. 



212 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Hutchinson, the renegade Governor of Massachn- 
setts, proposed to annul the charter of Rhode 
Island. The committee applied to Samuel Adams 
for counsel. ' ' An attack upon the liberties of 
one colony," was his answer, "is an attack upon 
the liberties of all." 

The new year, the eventful 1773, began amid 
anxious doubts and firm resolves. The Assembly 
was sitting at East Greenwich, the Gaspee court 
at Newport. ''What shall I do T ' asked Chief - 
Justice Hopkins. The Assembly bade him follow 
his own judgment. "Then for the purpose of 
transportation for trial," said the brave old man, 
"I will neither apprehend any person by my 
own order nor suffer any executive oflacers in the 
Colony to do it." The question fortunately 
never rose, but questions equally important were 
at hand. 

The burning of the Gaspee was a sudden out- 
break of popular indignation. To thoughtful 
minds it was a still more alarming indication of 
popular feeling that the senior officer on the sta- 
tion. Captain Keeler, of the Mercury, should have 
been seized and verdicts of trespass and trover 
found against him in the colonial courts. But 
England did not heed the warning. 

But the great work was done by the Committee 
of Correspondence, already formed in Massachu- 
setts and Rhode Island in 1764, but more effect- 
ively organized in Virginia in 1775 — the railroads 
and telegraphs of those days. They bound the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAT^^D. 213 

colonies in a union wliicli doubled their strength 
and fanned their zeal into a flame. Through them 
the earliest and " most authentic intelligence of 
all such acts and resolutions of the British Par- 
liament, and measures of the ministry as may re- 
late to Or affect the British colonies in America" 
was obtained, and a correspondence concerning 
them kept up with the other colonies. In all 
these preparations for the struggle, now so near 
at hand, Rhode Island bore her part. And 
while they were going on, and as if his part had 
been done, her faithful agent, proved by fourteen 
years of assiduous service, Joseph Sherwood, 
died. 

In October, 1773, the tea act went into operation, 
leading the discontent still more directly to ac- 
tion. But as no tea was sent to Rhode Island, 
and the story is well known I shall not repeat it 
here, only saying that public meetings were held 
in all of which it was resolved to confirm the 
Philadelphia resolutions. Rhode Island had 
another grievance to complain of. 

The story of the Hutchinson letters is well 
known to every reader of American history. 
Some unknown friend of the colonies had put 
them in the hands of Franklin, and Franklin had 
sent them to America. " Among them was a let- 
ter of George Rome, written six years before, 
denouncing the governments and courts of Rhode 
Island." It was immediately published in news- 
papers and on broadsides, and in every form 



214 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

whicli could give it circulation. Everywhere it 
was read with the strongest expressions of con- 
demnation. The author was brought to the bar 
of the house of deputies, and refusing to plead, 
sent to jail for the remainder of the session. 

Among the acts of revenge which disgrace the 
English legislation of this period, was the re- 
moval of Franklin from the responsible office of 
superintendent of the American post-office. In 
his hands the post-office had become a trust- 
worthy institution, paying its way and meeting 
the wants and commanding the confidence of the 
country. As a means of communication it had 
become a bond of union. To suppress it would 
be a serious blow to the social and commercial 
relations of all the colonies. The blow fell, but 
not according to its aim. We have already re- 
corded the name of William Goddard as founder 
and editor of the Providence Gazette. When 
Franklin was removed Goddard conceived the 
idea of a colonial post-office adapted to the 
new relations between England and the colonies. 
To secure the concurrence of all the colonies he 
visited them all, explaining his plans and awaken- 
ing everywhere that confidence without which 
all his efforts would have been vain. It was 
another step towards union. 

On the eve of such a contest it was wise to 
count heads. A census was ordered and gave as 
its result fifty-nine thousand six hundred and 
seventy-eight, of whom fifty-four thousand four 



HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 215 

hundred and thirty-five were whites, three thou- 
sand seven hundred and sixty- one blacks, and 
one thousand four hundred and eighty-two In- 
dians. 

Two events of grave significance mark the 
month of May, 1774. General Gage entered Bos- 
ton as Governor, and a town meeting was held at 
Providence wherein it was resolved, "that the 
deputies of this town be requested to use their 
influence at the approaching session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of this Colony, for promoting a 
Congress as soon as may be, of the Representa- 
tives of the General Assemblies of the several 
colonies and provinces of North America for 
establishing the firmest Union, and adopting such 
measures as to them shall appear the most effect- 
ual to answer that important purpose ; and to 
agree upon proper methods for executing the 
same.'* 

In the same meeting it was recommended to 
break off all trade with Great Britain, Ireland, 
Africa and the West Indies till the Boston Port 
Bill should be repealed. Everywhere the warm- 
est sympathy with Boston was expressed and 
effective measures taken to assist her by contribu- 
tions of provisions and money. East Greenwich 
was the first to open a subscription for her. The 
example was promptly followed by Newport, 
Westerly and other towns in which her name had 
never awakened kindly feelings before. Some of 
the poor sought refuge in neighboring colonies, 



216 HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

and found work and sympathy. Some Tories, 
alarmed at the prospect of a siege, removed to 
Providence, but found it a dangerous residence 
for men ol theii* political creed. One of these, a 
hardware dealer named Joseph Simpson, seems 
to have been particularly obnoxious to the Whigs, 
who of a Saturday night covered his doors and 
windows with tar and feathers. A public meet- 
ing was called to protest against allowing the 
town to be made a receptacle of the enemies of 
the country and request the council to have such 
persons legally removed. Some indications of 
disorder appearing, another meeting was called 
to "insist upon the supremacy of the laws." 

Measures of defence, also, began now to attract 
the attention of the Assembly. The stores at 
Fort George were examined. Some thirty years be - 
fore an independent company had been chartered 
under the name of the Providence County Artil- 
lery. This name was now changed to Cadet Com- 
pany and the corps formed upon a regimental 
basis, taking its position field days on the right. 
The Light Infantry Company, of Providence, was 
chartered at the same session. It was to consist 
of a hundred men and be stationed "in front of 
the left wing of the regiment." A day of fasting 
and prayer was appointed and religiously ob- 
served. But the most important step of all was 
the election of Stephen Hopkins and Samuel 
Ward for delegates to that Congress towards 
which all eyes were anxiously directed. Thus 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 217 

Rhode Island had been the first to propose a 
Congress and the first to take action upon the 
proposal. In the same session six resolutions 
were passed "counseling Union and an imme- 
diate meeting of Congress to petition for redress, 
and to devise measures to secure their rights." 
And as if they foresaw how entirely government 
was passing away from the King and Parliament, 
they recommended also that Congress should 
meet annually. Copies of these resolves were 
sent to all the colonies. 

On the 5th of September, 1774, Congress met 
in Philadelphia, and after careful deliberation 
adopted a Declaration of Rights, and recom- 
mended the formation of an " American Associa- 
tion," the chief articles of which were "non- 
intercourse with Great Britain till their grievances 
should be redressed, abolition of the slave trade, 
encouragement of home industry, and the ap- 
pointment of committees of inspection in every 
town and district to see that its terms were kept 
inviolate." To these were added "a petition to 
the King, letters to the other British colonies, 
addresses to the Canadians and to the people of 
Great Britain, and votes of thanks to the friends 
of America in Parliament." The tone through 
all was decent, earnest and resolute. As they 
circulated through the country the people felt 
that their convictions had been faithfully repre- 
sented. 

In this agitated state of the popular mind a 



218 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

riot was stirred up in Providence by the license 
question, and in East Greenwich by the Tory 
question. The first was put down by the citizens, 
but the second called for the intervention of the 
military. 

The attention of the General Assembly was 
largely given to measures of defence. The co- 
lonial fire-arms at Newport were distributed by 
counties in proportion to their tax rate. Simeon 
Potter, of Bristol, was chosen major-general, a 
new office created for the occasion and subject to 
annual election. The militia law was carefully 
revised, and provision made for the "manner in 
which the forces within this Colony shall march 
* to the assistance of any of our sister colonies if 
invaded or attacked." The cannon and powder 
at Fort George were removed to Providence for 
greater security and more convenient use. Inde- 
pendent companies were formed and carefully 
trained. Among the Kentish Guards were ISTa- 
thanael Greene, the future liberator of the South ; 
Christopher Greene, the future hero of Red Bank ; 
James M. Yarnum, a future brigadier, and others 
whose names reappear in higher grades as the 
progress of the war brought superior merit to 
view. In Providence County the militia was 
divided into three regiments under the command 
of a brigadier. 

Among the recommendations addressed by 
Congress to the people, was a recommendation to 
stop the exportation of sheep to the West Indies, 



HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 219 

for domestic manufactures were growing daily in 
importance and wool was wanted for colonial 
looms. The recommendation was promptly acted 
upon, and a temporary committee of inspection 
appointed to see it carried out. The manufac- 
ture of fire-arms was successfully begun. 

In February, 1773, the day for suspending the 
use of tea came. In Providence three hundred 
pounds of it were publicly burned, the fire being 
lighted with ministerial documents and other ob- 
noxious papers. While this was a doing by the 
" sons of liberty" in Market Square, some other 
sons of liberty went round from store to store, 
effacing with lamp-black the word tea on the 
signs. 

In April there was a general muster of the 
militia, when it was found that Providence County 
had two thousand infantry and a troop of horse 
under arms, and Kent County nearly fifteen hun- 
dred. The returns of the other counties have not 
been preserved. 

The day of decision came. The battle of Lex- 
ington was fought. The tidings reached Provi- 
dence in the night. By the next day a thousand 
armed men were on the road to Boston. But 
before they could reach it expresses met them 
announcing the retreat of the British. 

The Assembly met. They voted to raise an 
Army of Observation of fifteen hundred men, in 
spite of the protests of the Grovernor, the Deputy- 
Governor and two assistants. Nathanael Greene 



220 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

and William Bradford were appointed a com- 
mittee to confer with the Assembly of Connecti- 
cut about this raising of arms. The public 
ammunition was distributed — to each town its 
proportion. For greater security it was voted to 
hold the election session of the Assembly at 
Providence. A day was set apart for fasting and 
prayer. 

The May session for the election of officers 
came. The dividing line between Whig and Tory 
was more sharply drawn. Several changes were 
made in the board of assistants. Deputy-Gov- 
ernor Sessions gave place to Nicholas Cooke. 
Governor Wanton himself was suspended for 
having in various ways ' ' manifested his inten- 
tions to defeat the good people of these colonies 
in their present glorious struggle to transmit in- 
violate to posterity those sacred rights they have 
received from their ancestors." A Committee of 
Safety was appointed, which, with the two highest 
military officers, was to superintend the paying 
and furnishing the troops and direct their move- 
ments when called out of the Colony. The 
public offices were removed to Providence. 

"The army was formed into one brigade of 
three regiments, each regiment consisting of 
eight companies, with a train of artillery." Of 
this little army, called Army of Observation, 
Nathanael Greene, who had never held military 
rank before, was placed in command with the 
rank of brigadier-general. To anticipate jeal- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 221 

onsies of rank and position it was provided that 
"each regiment should occupy the flanks in 
rotation." 

Paper money with all its evils now became a 
necessity, and bills of credit were issued to the 
amount of twenty thousand pounds. To give 
them the character of an investment they were to 
bear an interest of two and a half per cent., and 
be "redeemable by taxation at the end of two 
and five years." An embargo was laid on pro- 
visions. 

Another battle, the battle of Bunker Hill, was 
at hand. Collisions between the King's troops 
and the people were frequent. By the 1st of June 
nearly a thousand men of the Rhode Island Army 
of Observation with their artillery were encamped 
on Jamaica Plains. The committees of inspection 
for enforcing the American Association were very 
active. Articles of war were framed. Tories 
were jealously watched. The suspension of Gov- 
ernor Wanton was a bold step resolutely perse- 
vered in. He attempted to explain and defend 
his conduct, but his explanations were not ac- 
cepted. 

The persecutions of the Gaspee were renewed 
by Sir James Wallace, Captain of the Rose 
frigate, and brought on an action between a 
tender of the frigate and a colonial sloop com- 
manded by Captain Abraham Whipple. After 
some sharp firing on both sides, the tender was 
driven ashore under Conanicut and captured. 



. 222 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Wallace already owed Whipple a grudge for his 
part in the burning of the Gaspee, and wrote 
him: "You, Abraham Whipple, on the 10th of 
June, 1772, burned His Majesty's vessel, the 
Gaspee, and I will hang you at the yard-arm. 
James Wallace." To which Whipple replied: 
"To Sir James Wallace, Sir : Always catch a man 
before you hang him. Abraham Whipple." 

This was no longer a sudden uprising of pop- 
ular indignation against insufferable wrong, but 
a conflict between two regular armed vessels — 
the first naval battle of the War of Independence. 
It led directly to the equipping of two vessels, the 
Washington and the Katy, for the defence of the 
Colony — the largest carrying ten four-pounders 
and fourteen swivels, with a crew of eighty men — 
the smallest with thirty men. 

In this June session in which the foundations of 
the navy were laid, William Goddard's postal 
system w^ent into operation six weeks before its 
adoption for all the colonies by Congress. 

During this same eventful month of June the 
waters of Narragansett Bay were the scene of 
another bold enterprise. The Rose frigate, Swan 
sloop-of-war, and a tender were lying with five 
prizes in Newport harbor. Other vessels came in 
sight and the royal squadron set out in pursuit 
of them, following them up the bay and leaving 
the five prizes unprotected. No sooner did the 
people of Newport see the opportunity than they 
seized it, boarded the prizes and carried them off 
in triumph. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 223 

The next event of general interest was the 
battle of Bunker Hill. An extra session of the 
Assembly was called. Committees w^ere ap- 
pointed to take account of the arms and ammu- 
nition in the Colony and report it to Congress. 
Saltpetre and brimstone were sent to the powder 
mills of New York. Fort George was dismantled. 
A signal post was established on Tower Hill, and 
a beacon at Providence, on Prospect Hill. The 
Colony was put upon a war footing, every man 
able to bear arms being required to hold himself 
in readiness for active service. A fourth of the 
militia were held for minute men and drilled half 
a day every fortnight. The independent com- 
panies were drilled with them. The Army of 
Observation, w^hich now numbered about seven- 
teen hundred men, was placed under the com- 
mand of Washington. Everywhere were sights 
and sounds of war. 

The national fast day came, July 20th. From 
every pulpit, from every family altar, rose fervent 
prayers for Almighty guidance and protection. 
For Newport it was a day of terror, for Wallace, 
enraged at the desertion of some of his men, 
threatened to bombard the town. Two days he 
lay in position before it. On the third he sailed 
away. 

Providence harbor was now fortified between 
Field and Sassafras Points, and a battery of six 
eighteen-pounders erected on Fox Point. The 
Beacon was proved and found to shed its light 



224 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

over an area extending from Cambridge to New 
London and Norwich, and from Newport to Pom- 
fret. All through August the preparations for 
war continued. The live stock was removed from 
Block Island and the islands of the bay. The 
incipient navy was enlarged and the Rhode Island 
delegates in Congress instructed "to use their 
whole influence for building at the Continental 
expense, a fleet of sufficient force for the protec- 
tion of these colonies, and for employing them in 
such manner and places as will most efi^ectually 
annoy our enemies, and contribute to the com- 
mon defence of these colonies." This recommend- 
ation led to the appointment of a committee of 
which Governor Hopkins and John Adams were 
members, and which presently laid the founda- 
tion of the Continental Navy. 

From time to time there were sudden alarms. 
Once it was given out that Providence was to be 
attacked, and the works in the harbor were 
manned and the troops called out. But Wallace, 
contenting himself with taking a brig from the 
West Indies and plundering the shores, retired 
down the bay. In October he was reinforced, and 
after holding Newport in suspense bombarded 
Bristol. Domestic enemies also were to be 
guarded against. George Pome reappears and is 
sent to Providence " to be dealt with according 
to his demerits." Furnishing supplies to the 
enemy or holding correspondence with them was 
made punishable with death and forfeiture. Ex- 



HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 225 

ception was made in favor of Newport on account 
of her exposed situation. The sufferings of the 
poor both in Newport and on the islands were so 
great that the Assembly found it necessary to 
come to their assistance, helping some to move 
away and supplying others with provisions. How 
business suffered may be seen by the repeal of 
the statute of limitations. In November Gov- 
ernor Wanton was formally removed from office 
and Nicholas Cooke elected in his stead. With 
the burning of the Gaspee the sword was drawn, 
with the deposition of Governor Wanton the 
scabbard was thrown away. 

Meanwhile new emissions of bills of credit 
were made and the overwhelming debt overwhelm- 
ingly increased. But it was no longer the debt 
of a single colony but a part of the war debt of 
all the colonies, and therefore Congress assumed 
forty-five thousand pounds of it as such. Of 
this forty-five thousand pounds a hundred and 
twenty thousand dollars were presently paid. 
One more battle was fought in Narragansett Bay, 
and one more day set apart for fasting and prayer. 

We have seen that Rhode Island had called for 
a navy. In November Congress took the subject 
up, appointed a marine committee and voted to 
arm and equip four vessels. Esek, brother of the 
Governor, was put in command of them with the 
title of commodore. Two hundred and fifty 
Rhode Islanders followed Arnold through the 
wilderness, and none of all the invading army 
15 



226 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

bore with greater fortitude the privations of the 
weary march or fought more gallantly under the 
walls of Quebec than Christopher Greene, Samuel 
Ward and Simeon Thayer, all of whom we shall 
meet again on the ramparts of Red Bank. Over 
a hundred were sent to Philadelphia under Cap- 
tain Whipple, to serve in the new navy. 

Meanwhile at Newport and on the islands the 
presence of the British squadron held men in 
constant alarm. A considerable force was en- 
camped at Middletown, and a constant watch 
kept up to guard against the secret machinations 
of the disaffected. Row gallies patrolled the bay 
and a night guard was established. But in spite 
of every precaution the trees were cut down on 
Hope Island, twelve dwelling houses were burned 
and their occupants plundered on Conanicut, and 
the live stock carried off wherever a secure land- 
ing could be effected. General Lee, who had been 
sent from Cambridge to direct the fortifying of 
the island, made his entrance into Newport at 
the head of eight hundred men, and after impos- 
ing upon the suspected a comprehensive oath and 
giving instructions for the erection of fortifications, 
returned to the army. To express their sense of 
his services the Recess Committee voted " that one 
of the best beds, with the furniture taken from 
Charles Dudley, be presented to General Lee." 

In the last days of December there was a riot 
in West Greenwich to prevent the enlistment of 
minute men. In the middle of January there 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 227 

was some sharp lighting on Prudence Island. In 
the course of the first day tlie Britisli, who had 
come up in twelve vessels, landed two hundred 
and fifty men, drove off a body of a hundred minute 
men, burned seven houses and carried away a 
hundred sheep. Next day reinforcements ar- 
rived from Bristol and Warren and the fighting 
was renewed. This time the victory was with the 
Americans, and after a battle of three hours the 
enemy were driven to their ships with a loss of 
fourteen killed and many wounded. War in one 
of its worst forms raged at all the most vulnerable 
points of ]S"arragansett Bay. 

And thus the gloomy days went by, slowly 
but surely bringing nearer and nearer the now in- 
evitable problem of independence. Rhode Island, 
with her hundred and thirty miles of coast line, 
her two navigable rivers, and triple passage from 
the ocean, was in constant exposure. We have 
seen how she was harrassed by Wallace in Jan- 
uary, 1776. In February more houses and a 
windmill were burned and more stock plundered 
on Prudence, and a descent for plunder made on 
PointJudith. With this last the names of sev- 
/eral persons suspected of being Tories were mixed 
up, giving the Committee of Safety much to do. 
\Pifiiculties between the citizens of Newport and 
the soldiers under General West, encamped on 
the island, arose in a measure from the same 
caijse. West resigned because men whom he had 
arrested as Tories had been set at liberty by the 
Assembly. Among them was Governor Wanton. 



228 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND, 

The first act of the eventful drama closes with 
the evacuation of Boston, on the 17th of March. 
For a day it was believed that the British fleet 
was entering the bay, but the alarm proved false. 
The American army went to New York, passing 
through Rhode Island on its march. 

While these events, so grievous in the present, 
so full of a glorious future, were passing, Samuel 
Ward, who had so nobly represented the highest 
conscience and culture of Rhode Island in the 
Continental Congress, was dying of small-pox in 
Philadelphia — the advanced post of civil heroism. 
An upright and conscientious man, who had drawn 
from books and men those lessons which make 
men wise in judgment and firm in principle and 
bold in action. Had he lived a few weeks longer 
his name would have been foremost among the 
signers. A marble monument was voted him by 
Congress, "in testimony of the respect due to 
his memory, and in grateful remembrance of his 
public services." 

The last Colonial Assembly of Rhode Island 
met on the 1st of May. On the 4th, two months 
before the Congressional Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, it solemnly renounced its allegiance to 
the British crown, no longer closing its session 
with "God save the King," but taking in its 
stead as expressive of their new relations, ' ' God 
save the United Colonies." 



OHAPTEE XXV. 

RHODE ISLAND BLOCKADED.— DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
INDORSED BY THE ASSEMBLY. — NEW TROOPS RAISED.— 
FRENCH ALLIANCE. — UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THE 
BRITISH FROM RHODE ISLAND. 

From the 4tli of May, 1 776, the Declaration of 
Independence of Rhode Island, to the battle of 
Tiverton Heights, on the 29th of August, 1778, 
she lived with the enemy at her door, constantly 
subject to invasion by land and by water, and 
seldom giving her watch-worn inhabitants the 
luxury of a quiet pillow. For months, as we 
already have seen, British ships of war had in- 
fested her shores, driving off the stock, plunder- 
ing the inhabitants and burning their houses and 
barns. In November a still greater calamity 
befell her, a British fleet took possession of her 
waters, a British army of her principal island. 
The seat of government was removed to Provi- 
dence. The points most exposed had already 
been fortified as well as the means and military 
science of the Colony permitted. These were 
strengthened and other points fortified. A battery 
was erected on the southern projection of War- 
wick Neck, commanding the entrance of Coweset 
Bay. The women and children of the seaboard 



230 HISTOKY OF EHODE ISLAI^D. 

towns were advised to take refuge in the interior. 
The militia were called out. The troops on the 
island, about seven hundred in number, were 
removed to the main land, part under Colonel 
Cook taking post at Tiverton, part under General 
West at Bristol. Massachusetts and Connecticut 
sent immediate aid to their imperilled sister. 
And thus Rhode Island entered upon the humiliat- 
ing life of a district held by its enemy. 

The story of these three years should either be 
told in detail, or told very briefly. In detail it 
presents some striking pictures and some impor- 
tant lessons. The pictures are for the chief part 
marine views, most of the fighting having taken 
place on the water. The lessons are to be found 
in the skill or want of skill with which legislation 
adapted itself to new wants and new means. Our 
limits do not admit ot* detail. We shall glean 
sparingly from the statute book. 

The first duty of the Assembly was to draw 
out the resources of the State and give them 
eflaciency. The census of Providence in Febriiary 
gave a return of four thousand three hundred 
and fifty-five souls, with about ^ve hundred stand 
of arms. Of this population one-sixth were 
effective men. The other towns furnished their 
proportion, and the distribution and equipment 
of them received the constant attention of the 
Assembly and fills a large space in the schedules. 
In the new arrangement of the Continental Army 
the three Rhode Island regiments were formed 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 231 

into two battalions. We shall not attempt to 
follow the schedule through the various changes 
which were made in the quota furnished by 
Rhode Island to the main army. The fuller page 
of history gives it a noble record, and the names 
of Christopher Greene, of Angell, of Thayer, of 
the two Olneys, of Samuel Ward and their com- 
panions, stand very high in the regimental history 
of the war. 

Another subject which occupied from time to 
time the anxious attention of the Assembly was 
the treatment of the small-pox. How could its 
ravages be staid ? How could the prejudice 
against inoculation, which still prevailed so 
widely even among the intelligent and well in- 
formed, be overcome ? The question was brought 
before the Assembly in June, when it was re- 
solved, though not without opposition, to estab- 
lish an hospital for inoculation in each county. 
It was resolved also to ask Congress to establish 
a uniform system of inoculation in the army 
and navy. 

There could no longer be any doubt as to the 
treatment of Tories. Rhode Island was an inde- 
pendent state, and justifiable in employing, to 
protect herself against treason, the same means 
which other independent states employed. A 
test oath was framed, which all who were sus- 
pected of Toryism were required to subscribe. 
Yet, even in this dark day of trial she did not 
forget her fundamental principle, and the con- 



232 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

scientious scruples of the Quakers were respected. 
Commerce was permitted with all parts of the 
world except England and her dependencies. 

The Declaration of Independence by Congress 
was received with general satisfaction, and pro- 
claimed with a national salute and military dis- 
play. At Providence the King' s arms were burned, 
and the Legislature assumed its legal title, "The 
State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions," and voted that "we do approve the said 
resolution, and do most solemnly engage that we* 
will support the said General Congress with our 
lives and fortunes." 

Congress, as we have seen, had voted to build a 
navy at the original suggestion of Rhode Island, 
and directed that two of the thirteen frigates that 
were to compose it should be built there. Ship 
building was one of the arts to which the Colony 
had directed its attention on its first planting, 
and Rhode Island workmen had grown skillful 
therein. The direction first taken by her mari- 
time enterprise was privateering, which not only 
made the fortunes of individuals, but met many 
wants which the regular commerce of Nthe country 
was unable to meet. To this great fleet Rhode 
Island contributed sixteen vessels, manned by 
men in the prime of life, and animated by love of 
adventure, love of country, and love of gain. 
Sometimes their numbers were kept full at the 
expense of the army, and it was found necessar^^ 
to lay a general embargo till the Continental 
quotas were filled. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 233 

In December the Assembly met at Greenwich, 
but finding that place too exposed, adjourned to 
Providence. The chief subject of discussion was 
how to raise an army, and the New England 
States were invited to send committees to Provi- 
dence to concert some general plan of action. 
The Pecess Committee gave place to a Council of 
War, composed of ten members. The dangerous 
system of short enlistments still prevailed and 
a brigade of three regiments, two of infantry, 
each composed of seven hundred and fifty men 
in eight companies, and one of artillery com- 
posed of three hundred men in five companies, 
were voted for fifteen months. The command 
was given to General Yarnum, and Malmedy, a 
French officer, recommended by General Lee, was 
appointed "Chief Engineer and Director of the 
works of defence in this State, with the rank of 
Brigadier " When brought to the test of enlist- 
ment its roll filled up very slowly. 

The Convention of the Eastern States met in 
Providence. Each state was represented by three 
delegates. Stephen Hopkins was chosen Presi- 
dent. After long and frequent consultations with 
the Assembly, it was recommended that an army 
of six thousand men should be concentrated in 
Rhode Island, of which Massachusetts was to 
furnish nineteen hundred men, Connecticut eleven 
hundred, 'New Hampshire three hundred, and 
Rhode Island eighteen hundred and a thousand 
Continental troops. 



234 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAl^D. 

Other questions called for equal attention. 
Men no longer dared to look to paper and a print- 
ing-press for their money, but to taxing and bor- 
rowing. A loan of forty thousand pounds at five 
per cent, was voted. But the borrowers were 
many, the lenders few, and taxes hard to collect. 
With less wisdom it was voted to prevent monop- 
olies and regulate prices. All of these questions 
recur from time to time till men grow weary 
of contending with the natural laws of trade. 
Meanwhile the army was almost naked, and more 
than once on the brink of starvation and mutiny. 
The plans of the convention for concentrating a 
large force were never wholly carried out, and 
the army of the State, like the army of Con- 
gress, was too often an army on paper. 

Yet one great step was taken at the suggestion 
of General Varnum. Colonel Christopher Greene, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Olney and Major Ward were 
sent home to enlist a battalion of negroes for the 
Continental service. When the question came 
before the Assembly in the form of a resolution 
to enroll slaves, compensate their masters and 
give them their freedom, it met with some opposi- 
tion upon the ground that it would be disapproved 
of in other states, that the masters would not be 
satisfied with the compensation, and that there 
were not slaves enough to make a regiment. But 
the wiser opinion prevailed, the regiment was 
raised, and when the day of trial came the freed- 
man proved himself an excellent soldier. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 235 

In February, 1778, the Articles of Confederation 
were adopted, not as perfectly satisfactory, but 
as the best that could be had. Certain modifica- 
tions were proposed. ' ' Obtain them if you can, ' ' 
were the instructions to the Rhode Island dele- 
gates, "but in all events sign the articles." 

In April came the happy tidings of the French 
alliance, joyfully received everywhere with ring- 
ing of bells and firing of salutes and military dis- 
play. The 22d of April had been appointed for 
a fast day. It was changed to a thanksgiving. 
The hopes of the country were raised very high. 
"Surely," men said to one another, "now that 
France has declared for us, the end must be 
near. ' ' 

In May Governor Cooke, who had served dili- 
gently since the beginning of the war, withdrew 
from his laborious office, and William Greene, 
son of the late Governor Greene, was elected in 
his stead, and with such general acceptance that 
he continued to be reelected eight years in suc- 
cession. Four delegates instead of two were sent 
to Congress. 

We have seen how the islands of the bay had 
suffered. In the same month of May an expe- 
dition was sent by the British commander at 
Newport against Warren and Bristol on the 
main. Three churches and several private houses 
were burnt, and seventy flat-boats, together with 
the galley Washington and a grist-mill, were de- 
stroyed. There was loss of life and destruction 



236 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAISTD. 

of property, but not a step made towards the de- 
cision of the contest. Soon after an attempt 
was made on Fall River, but repulsed by the 
judicious choice of position and gallantry of Col- 
onel Joseph Durfee. 

The presence of the enemy in Narragansett 
Bay was a constant menace to the Eastern States, 
and to drive them out was the constant aim 
of the commander of that department. Under 
General Spencer great preparations had been made 
and great hopes entertained of success. But one 
of the brigades failed to be up with their boats 
in time, and a second attempt was prevented by 
the weather. 

At last the favorable moment came. Sullivan, 
an active and intelligent officer, was in command 
of the Continental forces, and the cooperation of 
D'Estaing with the French fleet was secured. On 
the 29th of July twelve French ships of the line 
and four frigates arrived off Newport. The 
English were effectually blockaded, driven from 
their outposts, and compelled to destroy their 
vessels. 

Preparations were made for an immediate ad- 
vance. At no period of the war had greater enthu- 
siasm prevailed. Volunteers came pouring in from 
Boston, Salem, Newburyport, Portsmouth — not 
merely those whom pay or bounty could call out, 
but men of wealth and position. John Hancock 
led the militia of Massachusetts. Greene and 
Lafayette came on from the main army. By the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 237 

8tli of August Sullivan found himself at the head 
of ten thousand men. The right wing took post 
at Tiverton. The French fleet under D'Estaing 
held the outer harbor. The morning of the 10th 
was fixed upon for the attack. On the 8th the 
fleet ran up the middle passage in face of a heavy 
fire from the enemy's batteries, and secured the 
command of the bay. Sir Robert Pigot drew in 
his forces and stationed them in strong positions 
near the town. They numbered about six thou- 
sand in all. 

Sullivan seeing that the British commander had 
abandoned his strong works at the head of the 
island, thought that no time was to be lost in 
securing them, and without waiting for the day 
agreed upon with the French admiral, set his 
right wing under Greene, in motion on the morn- 
ing of the 9th and began to cross over to the 
island. ^ D'Estaing felt the breach of etiquette, 
but had little time to dwell upon it. For about 
two in the afternoon a fleet of nearly twent3^-five 
sail came in sight, standing in for Newport. It 
was the fleet of Lord Howe. He lay to off Point 
Judith for the night, and next morning began 
a trial of seamanship with D'Estaing for the 
weather-gage. The Englishman stood out to 
sea ; a sudden change of wind enabled the French- 
man to follow him, and the whole of the first day 
and part of the second were passed in manoeu- 
vring. Meanwhile the wind kept rising, and in a 
few hours it blew a gale. Soon it was no longer 



238 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

a question of victory, but of life. The work of 
destruction by mortal hands ceased. The big 
ships were tossed helplessly about by the yawn- 
ing billows. The invisible winds snapped the 
strong masts — once the pride of centennial 
forests — asunder. The Languedoc, with her 
ninety guns, the French admiral's own ship, lost 
masts and rudder. The shattered fleets made 
their way to port as best they might, the English 
to ISTew York, the French to Newport, with occa- 
sional encounters on their way. 

The tempest had raged with as much violence 
on shore as at sea. Nothing could withstand its 
rage. Trees were torn up by the roots. Tent 
poles were snapped asunder like reeds. Mar- 
quees were torn and dashed to the ground. The 
rain fell in torrents, swelling the brooks till they 
overflowed their banks and spread over the fields 
in ponds and pools. Men crouched under the stone 
walls. When the tempest ceased, horses and men 
were found dead together. Then was the time 
for Pigot to draw out his men from their snug 
quarters in the town and lead them against the 
exhausted Americans. The American general 
feared this, and anxiously watched the dangerous 
hours go by. But the Englishman let slip the 
golden occasion and it never returned. 

It was not without many misgivings that Sul- 
livan had seen the French fleet make sail and 
stand out to sea. But D'Estaing had pledged 
himself to return, and when on the 20th a swift 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 239 

frigate, and soon the Languedoc herself, hove in 
sight, he dispatched Greene and Lafayette to 
confer with the French admiral and his officers 
and secure their., cooperation. But whatever 
D'Estaing's own wishes may have been, his 
officers, who w^ere jealous of him as a landsman, 
pointed to his instructions and called upon him 
to repair to Boston. The Americans felt them- 
selves deserted, for it was only by the aid of the 
fleet that the town could be taken. "There 
never," they said, '^ was a prospect so favorable 
blasted by such a shameful desertion." 

Still Sullivan resolved to persevere in his at- 
tempt, and giving partial vent to his indignation 
in the order of the day, took up a position within 
three miles of the town and began to erect bat- 
teries. It was soon evident that it would be 
hazardous to attempt to hold it. On the 28th 
it was resolved to fall back and establish a forti- 
fied camp at the north end of the island. But 
already ,the army was melting away. Three 
thousand militiamen and volunteers went off in 
twenty -four hours, and presently the assailants 
scarcely outnumbered the assailed. The British 
fleet also would soon be back, while the French 
fleet could no longer be counted upon. D'Estaing 
indeed gallantly offered to bring up his land 
forces to the support of his allies. But now the 
only question was how to retreat without loss. 
A sharp battle was fought on the 29th, in which 
both sides contended obstinately for the victory. 



240 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAISTD. 

Then in the night, men, baggage, artillery and 
stores, were transported across the ferry with- 
out the loss of a man or beast, or a single muni- 
tion of war. 



CHAPTEE XXYI. 

ACTS OF THE BRITISH TROOPS.— DISTRESS IN RHODE ISLAND.— 
EVACUATION OF NEWPORT.— REPUDIATION.— END OF THE 
WAR. 

The Americans were sorely disappointed. They 
had taken up their arms with such confidence of 
success that they could not bear to lay them 
down with so little done. Their murmurs were 
loud and deep. Some were ready to lay all the 
blame upon their allies. Nothing but the good 
sense of Greene and the good feeling and generous 
nature of Lafayette could have prevented an out- 
break. The old leaven of English animosity to- 
ward France still lay deeply rooted in the colonial 
heart. It was an unfortunate beginning of the 
alliance that was to give them victory. 

For still another year the principal island of 
Narragansett Bay was to remain in the hands of 
British soldiers, and its other islands and the 
shores of its mainland lie exposed to the ravages 
of British cruisers. It was a year of suffering. 
There was no more fighting in regular battles, no 
more laying siege by regular advances, but many 
plundering excursions for the wanton w^aste of 
property and the wicked waste of life. Houses 
were burnt from mere w^antonness ; woods and 
16 



242 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

orchards cut down to serve for fire-wood, and for 
tliis the cold winter furnished a good excuse ; but 
when at last the enemy withdrew, little, was left 
of the sylvan beauty of Narragansett Bay. 

The adventurous fighting was chiefly done on 
the water, and the hero of it was Silas Talbot, 
of Providence. Talbot had already distinguished 
himself early in the war, both on land and on the 
water. Nothing suited his adventurous spirit so 
well as the leadership in enterprises which to 
other men seemed hopeless, and his judgment 
and skill equaled his daring. Of these bold 
exploits one of the boldest was the capture of 
the Pigot galley, a vessel of three hundred tons, 
mounting eight twelve-pounders, protected by 
strong boarding nettings and manned by forty- 
five men. The force with w^hich Talbot took 
her was a small sloop carrying two three-pounders 
and manned for the occasion by sixty men. As 
a recognition of his gallantry Congress sent him 
a commission of lieutenant-colonel, and not long 
after that of captain in the navy. 

Among the miseries of these years was a scarcity 
of food, almost amounting to a famine. Specula 
tion was active and remorseless, getting control of 
the market and growing rich on human suffering. 
An appeal was made to Connecticut for a suspen- 
sion of her embargo on provisions in favor of 
Rhode Island. The question how to counteract 
"engrossers and forestallers," was one of the 
most difficult questions which Congress and state 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 243 

legislatures and special conventions were called 
upon to meet. Two thousand helpless poor were 
scattered through the State, dependent upon 
public and private charity for bread. Five hun- 
dred pounds were voted for the relief of the poor 
of Newport. The appeal to Connecticut for a 
relaxation of her embargo w^as met by permission 
to export seven thousand bushels of grain, and a 
recommendation of a general contribution by her 
citizens. The recommendation called forth gifts 
of four thousand three hundred pounds in money, 
and five hundred bushels of grain. The recom- 
mendation was extended throiigh Congress to 
other states, and South Carolina assumed through 
her delegates fifty thousand dollars of Rhode 
Island's Continental quota. 

It was in this year also that the storm, long 
know^n as the Hessian storm, from the number of 
those wretched mercenaries who perished in it, 
occurred. Sentinels froze at their posts — some 
w^ere suffocated by the whirling snow. The roads 
were blocked up by it. Never had such a storm 
been known. 

New taxes were regularly called for and voted, 
both for Continental and State expenses. But the 
currency was deranged and the sources from 
whence taxes were drawn well nigh exhausted. 
The treasury was empty. To enlist a new^ brigade, 
— the term of the old one having run out,— it 
was found necessary to borrow twelve thousand 
pounds from Connecticut for a month. There 



244 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

was not time yet for constitutional reforms, 
although attention was frequently called to the in- 
equality of representation. But the more impor- 
tant reforms were the reforms of the army, and the 
great event of 1779 was the introduction of Steu- 
ben' s Tactics. 

The derangement of the currency made itself 
felt everywhere. Colonel Crary, of the First State 
Infantry, an excellent officer, was compelled to 
throw up his commission because he could not 
support his family on his pay. With many 
others it was merely a question of time — whether 
they should resign at once or wait a little longer 
till they were ruined utterly. As paper depreci- 
ated taxes were increased. Conhdence, the basis 
of national prosperity, was gone. In June, 1778, 
two heavy taxes were levied, one of two hundred 
and twenty-five thousand pounds for Congress, 
and one of sixty thousand pounds for the State. 
Almost the only channel through which goods 
and money still continued to come was through 
privateers. 

The vital question was the question of finance. 
Congress appealed to the states and the states to 
the towns. A convention met at East Greenwich 
and attempted to fix upon a maximum scale of 
prices for articles of consumption. The establish- 
ment of rates for labor and board and manufac- 
tures, was left with the towns. The fatal effects 
of a false system of political economy fell heavily 
upon both town and country. Trading in gold 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 246 

and silver was discouraged and desperate efforts 
made to relieve the country from the pressure of 
present debt ; but the root of the evil lay too 
deep, and bankruptc}^ was already at the door. 

One act, however, of these days of trial, we can 
still dwell upon with satisfaction. In spite of 
the manumission act an attempt was made to sell 
some slaves to the South. The Assembly inter- 
fered for their protection and forbade the sale. 

The Greenwich Convention had left its work 
unfinished. A new convention was called in 
September to finish it, and every effort was made 
to raise the loan recommended by Congress. At 
the suggestion of Massachusetts a convention of 
the five Eastern States was called to meet at Hart- 
ford and take these difficult questions into con- 
sideration. And thus the days and months passed 
away, monotonously sad, with little of present 
enjoyment and still less of promise for the future. 
Men lived like those who carry their lives in their 
hands and have no hold on the morrow. At last 
the long looked for day came. Fifty-two trans- 
ports entered Newport harbor and immediately 
the work of embarkation began. Six thousand 
men with their baggage and military stores and 
a melancholy train of Tories were to bid good- 
bye to their pleasant quarters. When all was 
ready the inhabitants were forbidden to venture 
into the streets on pain of death, and the march 
to the place of embarkation at Brenton's Point 
began. Then was heard for the last time in the 
streets of Newport the British drum and the 



246 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

measured tread of an enemy's marcli. All day 
long the boats were plying to and fro, and at 
sunset the fleet set sail. Forty-six Tories, with 
such property as they could carry, and a large 
band of liberated slaves went with it. The last act 
of the troops was to burn the barracks at Bren- 
ton's Point and the light-house at Beaver Tail. 
When the inhabitants began to look about them 
and count their losses, they found that over five 
hundred houses had been destroyed and property 
to the value of nearly one hundred and twenty-five 
thousand pounds ruined in the Town of Newport 
alone. The population had been reduced by more 
than half, and among the emigrants were the 
Lopez, and Hays, and Riveiras, and Touros, rich 
and enterprising Jews. One outrage it is difficult 
to explain, the robbery of the town records, which 
were put on board one of the transports and sent 
to New York. This alone would have been a 
great injury, for tliey contained the history of 
the Colony from its foundation, and as parts of 
that history the record of sales and grants of 
land. But to complete the loss the vessel on 
board which they had been put sunk in the pas- 
sage of Hell Gate, and it was not till they had 
lain three years in the water that they were 
recovered. Parts only were legible. 

The Assembly which met on the very day of 
the evacuation, found much to do. Many 
expenses which the presence of the enemy had 
made necessary, ceased. The coast-guard was dis- 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 247 

missed. The ferries from Newport to South 
Kingstown were reopened. The four island towns 
resumed their charter administration. The non- 
intercourse act was repealed, and New Shoreham 
restored to the exercise of her corporate rights. 
To meet the embargos laid by the neighboring 
states, an embargo was laid upon all articles of 
exportation. The militia was reorganized. In 
August acts had been brought in confiscating the 
property of Tories, and forbidding the sale of 
slaves out of the State against their will. They 
were passed in October. 

We come now, and reluctantly, to a disgrace- 
ful page of our annals, the Revolutionarj^ debt 
of Rhode Island. In the December session of 
1779, the State acknowledging "the proved fidel- 
ity, firmness and intrepidity in service, of its 
soldiers," pledged itself through its constitution- 
ally elected representatives, to make good at the 
close of the war, ' ' to them or their legal repre- 
sentatives, the wages of the establishment of 
Congress, wherever the}^ engaged." Upon the 
strength of this solemn engagement many of the 
men and officers of the three Rhode Island regi- 
ments of the line, whose terms of service were 
about to expire, reenlisted for the war. 

This pledge was broken, leaving an ineffaceable 
stain upon the shield of Rhode Island. Nor 
does it lighten the disgrace to say that other 
states also were untrue to their pledges. Other 
states persecuted for opinion, but in this Rhode 
Island did not follow their example. 



248 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

A bitter winter followed the evacuation. The 
bay was blocked up with ice. Seaward the ice 
extended as far as eye could reach. Govern- 
ment had to come to the relief of the starving and 
freezing poor. Corn cost four dollars a bushel, 
potatoes two — famine prices, as prices ordinarily 
ruled. 

We have marked the first appearance of the 
New])ort Mercury, During the three years of 
British occupation it was published at Kehoboth, 
but at the evacuation was brought back to New- 
port, and resumed its original influence under the 
editorship of Henry Barber. 

As time wore on things gradually assumed a 
more hopeful aspect. In April, 1779, Lafayette 
returned from France with the cheering assurance 
that a French fleet would soon follow him. Prep- 
arations for effective cooperation immediately 
began. The militia was called out for three 
months. Rhode Island's quota of men was one 
regiment of six hundred and thirty men ; of sup- 
plies, seventy one thousand six hundred and 
seventy-five pounds of beef, thirty hogsheads of 
rum, and twenty- two hundred and eighty-five 
bushels of forage grain ; of transportation, two 
hundred draft horses. 

The promptness with which the little State met 
the heavy calls upon her limited resources was 
warmly acknowledged by Washington in a letter 
to Governor Greene. And at the same time one 
of her regiments was winning high honor at 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 249 

Springfield, under the guidance of one of her best 
officers, Israel Angell. 

The arrival of the French fleet and army under 
Ternay and Rochambeau was the signal for 
universal rejoicing. The hopes and confidence 
of the first year of the alliance were revived. But 
this time the efforts of the combined forces were 
to be directed against the enem3^'s strongest 
post — New York itself. Some apprehensions 
were still felt from the secret machinations of the 
Tories, and an act was passed banishing them. 

Meanwhile preparations were made for quarter- 
ing and feeding the troops. In Providence, Uni- 
versity Hall was set apart for a hospital. The 
barracks at Tiverton and a farm near Bristol were 
assigned to them for the same purpose, and 
Pappoosquash Point was given to them for a 
burial place. 

To meet the expenses imposed by these prep- 
arations new taxes were assessed, founded upon a 
new estimate of taxable property, and designed 
to sink the remaining portion of the State's quota 
of old Continental bills and meet present and 
future expenses. Taken altogether the taxes 
voted in the July session of 1780, reduced to a 
specie standard, amounted to one hundred and 
twenty-six thousand three hundred and sixty- 
nine dollars and fifty cents. It was a heavy 
burden, and the good spirit with which the 
people bore it showed how thoroughly their 
hearts were enlisted in the cause of their country. 



250 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

But suddenly there was a new alarm. An En- 
glish fleet of sixteen ships of war appeared in 
the offing, staid just long enough to spread a 
general apprehension of invasion, and after a sec- 
ond alarm took up its station in Long Island 
Sound and blockaded the French from the sure 
position of Gardiner's Island. Thus for a time 
French cooperation once more failed. 

In September the Assembly met in Newport, 
the first time in four years. The State House 
had been used by the British for a hospital, and 
all the churches except Trinity for barracks. 
The Assembly held its sessions in the Redwood 
Library. 

Money was still the primary object of atten- 
tion. Congress called on the states for three mil- 
lions of dollars. For the first time Rhode Island 
was unable to meet her portion. She had also a 
large proportion of the French troops to provide 
for, whose headquarters were at Newport, where 
Rochambeau established himself in the Yernon 
House, which still bears his name. But the 
French brought hard money with them, and spent 
it freely. 

In December Ternay, the French admiral, died, 
without having had an opportunity of doing any 
thing important for his allies. His tomb is still 
seen in Trinity church-yard. 

We enter upon 1781, the decisive year of the 
war — and decisive also by its political significance. 
Connecticut and Virginia ceded their western 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 251 

lands to tlie Union, and Greene's successes in the 
South, and Washington's capture of Yorktown, 
virtually put an end to the war. In the same 
year the confederation was completed by the 
accession of Maryland. Rhode Island could not 
perform all her federate duties as heretofore, but 
the presence of the French fleet made her for a 
while an object of especial interest. Her daily 
quota of supplies was two thousand rations of 
fresh beef, besides rum and other stores. 

In the same year she lost by surprise two of 
her best soldiers, Colonel Christopher Greene and 
Major Ebenezer Flagg, both distinguished by 
their part in the defence of Red Bank, in 1777. 
Peace was at hand, and with peace a new experi- 
ment in political life. The confederation had been 
tried in war and found wanting. How would 
it meet iihe requirements of peace ? 



CHAPTEE XXYII. 

ARTS OF PEACE RESUMED. — DOCTRINE OF STATE RIGHTS. 

Great were the rejoicings over the .surrender 
of Cornwallis — public balls, firing of cannon and 
display of fire-works — for close upon that sur- 
render came the longed for peace. As a more en- 
during expression of gratitude to the man who had 
led in this great work, the Assembly decreed that 
"in order to obliterate, as may be, every trace 
and idea of that government which threatened 

our destruction the same county, 

(King's), shall forever hereafter be known and 
distinguished by the name and style of Wash- 
ington." 

And soon the war-worn troops who had so 
gallantly borne their part in the burthen and 
heat of the day, came home rejoicing in their 
victory, but trembling for their future. Then 
came pressing the urgent questions of the hour, 
and first of all the question of finance. The 
Bank of North America had been established to 
strengthen the hands of the superintendent of 
finance, though not enough to make him listen 
to the appeal of Rhode Island to be allowed to 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 253 

pay part of her quota in army supplies. To 
ascertain on what ground the State stood for tax- 
ation a new census was ordered, which gave hfty- 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine for 
the whole number of inhabitants, Newport 
returning ^ve thousand five hundred and thirty- 
one, and Providence four thousand three hun- 
dred and ten. A new estimate of taxable property 
also was made, which was found to amount to 
nearly three millions of pounds in lawful money. 
Taxation had borne heavily upon this capital, but 
with peace w^ar expenditures ceased, and produc- 
tive industry began to return to its natural 
channels. 

And very soon a Federal question arose. Con- 
gress resolved to levy an import duty of five per 
cent., but could not do it without the consent of 
the states. Here dawns upon us the question of 
state rights, soon to assume a more menacing 
aspect and delay for years Rhode Island's en- 
trance into the Union. Nearly all the states but 
Rhode Island had given their consent to it, but 
she foresaw in it future danger to her liberties 
and persisted in her refusal. Two of her delegates, 
Howell and Ellery, held out vigorously against it. 
" Howell undertook to prove that the State, by 
adopting the impost, would lose four-fifths of 
its revenue collected upon it. Mr. Ellery went 
upon the common danger of altering the consti- 
tution, and frightened the people with the loss of 
liberty." 



254 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Varnum and Marcliant used many arguments 
'^ to remove these prejudices, but to little purpose. 
The general spoke two hours and a half ; his 
arguments were learned, sensible and conclusive ; 
but they were unavailing. ' ' Such were the reason- 
ings in the Rhode Island Assembly. "The truth 
of the matter is," wrote General Greene, "a large 
majority of the members are incompetent judges 

of so complicated a question 

What is to become of us and our national honor 
God only knows. No people ever had brighter 
prospects shaded so unexpectedly." 

In the midst of these exciting discussions it is 
pleasant to see what early attention was given to 
education. The college returned to the use for 
which it was built, and in September, 1782, seven 
students received their degrees. 

In that same year and month died Nicholas 
Cooke, who had filled the Governor's chair so 
worthily at the begining of the war. More than 
once before peace was declared an armed enemy 
was seen in Narragansett Bay. Two vessels were 
cut out of Newport harbor in the night by Tory 
privateers, and at another time an armed party 
took possession of Hope Island and held it for 
several days. One of the most menacing signs of 
these troubled times, was the armed resistance 
to the collection of taxes which had threatened 
Massachusetts with civil war, but was sternly 
put down. Yet even when the strong arm 
of the law was raised to enforce, they who 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 255 

wielded it most firmly could not but feel that 
there was much ground for complaint. 

I shall not attempt to follow step by step the 
progress of Rhode Island in her return to the 
life and arts of peace. 'New laws were called for 
and made. New fields of enterprise were opened 
and entered upon. The errors of the past were 
to be bitterly atoned for. But her resources were 
great, her will strong, and her courage unabated. 
From the mass of detail I select a few charac- 
teristic points. 

The financial embarrassment made itself felt 
everywhere, endangering contracts, paralyzing 
industry and checking enterprise, and under- 
mining both public and private credit. Eight 
millions were required for the Federal quotas of 
1782. Less than half a million had been col- 
lected. Four states had paid nothing, nine next 
to nothing. The impost act failed, and Howell, 
who by his opposition to it had made himself 
numerous enemies in Congress, had greatly 
added to his influence at home. Rhode Island 
was looked up to as the champion of state rights. 
With time she will grow wiser. 

We have seen that slavery became the subject 
of legislation at an early period of our annals. 
It reappeared at the return of peace, when grad- 
ual emancipation was minutely provided for, and 
the introduction of "slaves for sale under any 
pretext whatever, forbidden." 

Among the purely local acts was the incorpora- 
tion of Newport, and the regulation of the Paw- 



256 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

catnck fishery, and an attempt to annex Poto- 
womut to East Greenwich. Among those which 
belong to the history of thought was that by 
which Sabbatarians were ' ' allowed to pursue their 
usual avocations on Sunday." Among those that 
bore directly upon business was the revival of the 
statute of limitations, and an act for encouraging 
the manufacture of certain articles of general 
demand. Patents and copyright laws followed 
soon after the adoption of the Constitution, 
thousrh not with a full recosfnition of an author's 
right to the product of his brain. For the sup- 
port of government a tariff act was passed. 

But the most historically interesting act of the 
February session of 1783 was the enabling act, 
by which the original harmony between the 
digests and the charter was restored. Into these 
digests, but when or how nobody could tell, the 
phrases: "Roman Catholics excepted," and 
"professing Christianity," had been interpolated 
in direct violation of the royal charter. Neither 
under Charles nor under James could this have 
been done. But in 1696 a plot against William 
had been discovered, which led to the formation 
of " associations of loyalty" in all the colonies 
but Rhode Island. Practically, the exception 
had no effect, and Catholics and Jews were admit- 
ted to the full rights of citizenship as they had 
always been. But as an historical question it is 
pleasant to know that the principle of universal 
toleration was never practically violated in the 
home of Roger Williams. 



CHAPTEE XXYIII. 

DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCY.— INTRODUCTION OF THE 
SPINNING-JENNY. — BITTER OPPOSITION TO THE FEDERAL 
UNION. — RHODE ISLAND FINALLY ACCEPTS THE CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

The question of finance meets us at every turn, 
and in every phase bears fatal witness to the 
demoralizing effects of paj^er money unsustained 
by hard money capital. At the Spring election 
of 1786, the triumph of the paper money party 
was complete. A new bank was established of a 
hundred thousand pounds. And soon a Forcing 
Act became necessary to give the bills currency 
under heavy penalties. A complete stagnation 
of business presently followed. The old hostility 
between town and country revived. Commerce 
was suspended. Shops were closed. The farmers 
who had mortgaged their farms for the bills, 
found that they had got nothing but bits of paper 
in return for fruitful acres. To retaliate upon 
the tradesmen they refused to bring their produce 
to market. The necessaries of life fell short and 
much suffering ensued. In Providence a town 
meeting was held to devise a remedy, and it was 
resolved that the farmers should be left to make 
17 



258 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

their own bargains, and that to relieve the imme- 
diate demand five hundred dollars should be 
borrowed and sent abroad to buy corn for the 
sufferers. At Newport an attempt was made to 
force the bills upon the grain dealers, which led 
to a riot. At a meeting in South Kingstown 
farmers were advised to break off their inter- 
course with the merchants. 

A convention of the country towns of Provi- 
dence County was held at Scituate and adjourned 
to meet the State convention at East Greenwich. 
Sixteen towns were represented and resolved " to 
support the acts of the General Assembly," and 
enforce the penal acts in favor of paper money. 
Providence was represented by ^ve of its best 
and most popular men, but they were powerless 
against the torrent. 

When the question came before the Assembly 
a new Forcing Act was passed, in which the right 
to trial by jury was withheld and all the common 
forms of justice violated. The protest ol the 
indignant minority was refused a place on the 
records ; and pushing their recklessness to the 
utmost, the triumphant majority enacted that the 
arrears of Continental taxes might be paid in 
the new bills, and proposed a system by which 
all trade was to be carried on by a committee in 
the name of the State. This, however, was a step 
too far even for these wild schemers, and when 
the Force Act was brought to trial, it was con- 
demned by a full bench as unconstitutional. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 259 

But the Assembly persevered, summoned the 
judges to answer for their interference, and under 
the name of Test Act passed a new Forcing Act 
more outrageous than the last. It was something 
like a pause in this reckless career that the new 
act was referred to the towns for discussion. Only 
three towns accepted it. An attempt at concili- 
ation failed. 

The lowest deep of financial degredation was 
reached when the treasurer was ordered to pay 
one-fourth part of the State debt in the bills re- 
ceived for taxes. Never had party spirit assumed 
so dangerous a form. Among the bad doings of 
the Assembly was the resumption of the charter 
of Newport. 

It was at this critical moment, when rents were 
paid in corn and trade seemed about to return to 
its original form of barter, that the first spinning- 
jenny in the United States was constructed by 
Daniel Jackson, of Providence, and the founda- 
tions of Rhode Island's manufacturing pros- 
perity securely laid. History is full of compen- 
sations. 

We reach the beginning of a still greater strug- 
gle. The convention that was to transform the 
Confederation into a Union was to meet in May. 
Should Rhode Island be represented in it? 
Those who had faith in the Confederation, and 
there were many such, believed that with some 
amendments it might be made to answer all the 
purposes of a stable government. Those who 



260 HISTOKY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

were more impressed with its weakness called for 
a thorough and radical change. The first, who 
in the sequel were known as States Rights men, 
were also the advocates of paper money. The 
second, the Federalists of a later day, were in 
favor of hard money. The motion to send dele- 
gates was lost, and another step taken towards 
repudiation. "All holders of State securities 
were required to present them to the treasurer 
within six weeks and receive five shillings in the 
pound thereupon, or to forfeit that amount, and 
interest was to cease immediately upon the rising 
of the Assembly. The paper was now passing at 
the rate of six dollars in paper for one in silver." 
Never had the honor of the State been so imper- 
illed. Fortunately, though, the Assembly was 
divided, the courts were firm, and it was only by 
removing four judges out of five that a decision 
in favor of paper payments was obtained. Mean- 
while the bills continued to fall, and soon reached 
eight for one. But the moral sense of the com- 
munity was not altogether stified. Some churches 
refused to receive as communicants men who paid 
their debts in paper. 

But soon all questions became absorbed in the 
question of the acceptance or rejection of the 
Convention. In the Senate it was voted to send 
delegates, but the bill was lost in the House, 
whose action was defended by a State Rights 
letter, setting forth the doctrine of popular 
sovereignty and "the entire subserviency of the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 261 

legislature to the public will." None but the 
people could send delegates to a convention. 

Meanwhile, the Convention, with Washington 
at its head, and Franklin, Hamilton and Madison 
among its working members, had reached the end 
of its arduous labors. The next step was to sub- 
mit it to the people. The Assembly met and a 
bill was introduced for printing it for distribution, 
and appointing delegates as recommended by the 
Convention itself. The last was voted down by a 
large majority. The fruit was not yet ripe. But 
a resolve to print a thousand copies for distribu- 
tion was agreed to, and thus the question was 
brought squarely before the people. 

And now for three years it was the chief ques- 
tion in all public meetings, and w^as sure to come 
in either directly or indirectly wherever two or 
three met. together for business or for pleasure. 
The merchants accepted it cheerfully, for they 
saw progress and development and protection in 
it. But it was opposed by the farmers, who saw 
in it a sacrifice of the rights of the State. Rhode 
Island had stood alone so long, had been so firm 
and self-reliant through the dark days of her 
long contest with Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
that she failed to see how completely the rela- 
tions of the colonies to each other were changed, 
when from colonies they became states. There 
was no place for independent states in the domain 
occupied by a Federal Union. 

The first to accept the Constitution was Dela- 
ware. Pennsylvania came next, and then New 



262 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Jersey. The opening of 1788 was marked by the 
accession of Georgia. Connecticut followed close. 
In Massachusetts the contest was long and bitter. 
In June New Hampshire gave in her adherence^ 

We have seen in what a dark hour Rhode 
Island first turned her attention to cotton spinning. 
In this hour of even deeper gloom she first 
opened a direct trade with India. About the same 
time a rolling and a slitting-mill was established 
near Providence. Women of all classes met 
together to spin flax, and men of all classes took 
pride in wearing homespun. Nor was the promise 
of navigation less. Providence already counted 
a hundred and ten sail in her waters, exclusive 
of river craft. In spite of all her errors her 
faith in the future was unimpaired. 

Meanwhile the contest continued. Town was 
arrayed against country, the States Rights men 
still holding the majority in the Assembl}^, al- 
though in Providence the Federalists were strong- 
est. The tidings of New Hampshire's acceptance 
was received with exultation. The Constitution 
was sure. In Providence it was resolved to unite 
the celebration of the Fourth of July with that of 
the completion of the National Union. The States 
Rights men took this for an intentional insult and 
marched upon the town. Nothing but the good 
sense of the leaders prevented a bloody collision. 
The rejoicings it was agreed, were for the Declar- 
ation of Independence, not for the Declaration of 
the Union. Then from five to six thousand people 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 263 

sat down in a tent a thousand feet long to feast 
upon a sumptuous banquet, the most attractive 
part of which was an ox roasted whole. On the 
very next day came tidings from Virginia. She 
also had accepted the Constitution. New York 
followed and then North Carolina, and the warm- 
est enthusiam welcomed each new declaration 
of acceptance. But a bitter party spirit still held 
Rhode Island back. 

Thus month followed month. New assemblies 
and new town meetings came together and fought 
over the same ground. In all the other states of 
the old thirteen the Constitution had been ac- 
cepted, and w^as in successful operation. It was 
clear that Rhode Island could not long preserve 
her insulation. She was already compelled to 
ask vital favors of the Union, and petition Con- 
gress to ex-empt her commerce from paying duties 
in Tnion ports. For a while Congress bore with 
her and granted her prayer. Slowly but surely 
the decisive day drew nigh. All the artifices of 
parliamentary tactics were brought into play. In 
the midst of intense excitement and by the cast- 
ing vote of Governor Collins, it was decided on 
the Sabbath morning of January 17th, 1790, to 
call a convention. But even in the convention 
the friends of the Constitution were in a minority. 
The familiar ground was to be fought over again 
with no less bitterness than in the beginning. 
Loud murmurs came from Congress. Shall this 
little strip of land prevent us from completing a 



264 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

union so full of promise ? Louder still were the 
murmurs from the seats of commerce — Providence 
and Newport. We will break away from these 
impracticable men and go into the Union alone 
with our ships and our spinning-jennies. A 
coalition ticket was formed. So great was the 
eager crowd, in which each man had his opinion, 
that the State House was found too small to hold 
them, and the convention was compelled to ad- 
journ to the Second Baptist Church. It still took 
three days more before a vote was reached ; and 
then, at live o'clock of Saturday afternoon, on 
the 29tli of May, 1790, Rhode Island declared 
her adhesion to the Union. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

MODE OF LIFE IN OUR FOREFATHERS' DAYS. 

We have followed with as much detail as our 
limits would permit, the history of Rhode Island 
through the various phases of her colonial life. 
Before we enter upon the story of her develop- 
ment as a member of a great Union, we propose 
to bring together a few facts from the imperfect 
record of her social and domestic life, and en- 
deavor to form for ourselves some idea of what 
manner of men and women our fathers and 
mothers were, and what kind of lives they led. 
Incomplete as our materials for such a picture 
are, there is still enough to be found in those 
sources from which history loves to draw to bring 
us very near to the life of those days. 

And to begin with the soil ; the inland in the 
beginning of English colonization was a vast 
"forest, dotted with ponds of fresh water and wat- 
ered by numerous rivers. In this forest the 
natives themselves had begun the work of clear- 
ing, and drawn between it and the sea a belt of 
arable land from eight to ten miles in depth, on 
which they planted their favorite food— the nutri- 
tious maize. The waters abounded with fish, the 



266 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

woods with game. The animals most to be feared 
were the wild-cat and the wolf — the most sought 
after by the hunter, the deer. In the earliest 
commercial intercourse of Indian and white man, 
the medium was maize. 

There were no carriages nor carriage roads. All 
traveling was on foot or horseback, and when the 
first English settlement began, in almost every 
twenty miles you would find an Indian village. 

As the soil came under more skillful cultivation 
and the colonist took the place of the Indian in 
field work, the harvests became more abundant, 
and the rich grasses which grew as high as the tops 
of the fences, became very valuable as butter and 
cheese. Thus farming was carried on on a large 
scale, and dairy farms gave employment to many 
hands. The Stanton farm was four miles long 
by two miles wide, and was cultivated by forty 
horses and forty slaves. The Champlin farm was 
a tract of a thousand acres, feeding thirty-five 
horses, fifty-five cows, from six to seven hundred 
sheep, and slaves enough to tend and utilize them 
all. Robert Hazard owned sixteen hundred acres 
on Boston Neck, and several thousand on the west 
side of the Pettaquamscot River. On one of these 
farms grazed a hundred and ten cows, two hun- 
dred loads of hay were cut, thirteen thousand 
pounds of cheese were made, and from seventy to 
eighty pounds of butter. The products on which 
all this labor was bestowed, were corn, tobacco, 
cheese and wool. The work was done by slaves 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 267 

and Indians. The cheese resembled in flavor and 
color the rich Cheshire cheese of England. Some 
attention was also given to fattening bullocks and 
raising horses, and cutting hay and grain for the 
West Indies. 

On Isaac P. Hazard's farm twelve negro women 
were employed in making cheese, each woman 
having a girl under her and making from twelve 
to twenty-four cheeses a day. So rich and luxu- 
riant was the grass that his hundred and fifty 
cows gave double the quantity of milk that cows 
give on the same farms now. Four thousand 
sheep furnished the materials for the woolen 
cloths of his numerous household, and extensive 
hemp fields the linen, both being woven in his 
own looms. This Hazard, when years came upon 
him, gave over the management of his estate into 
the hands of his children, and congratulated him- 
self that he thenceforth had only seventy mouths 
to provide for between parlor and kitchen. 

Traveling, as I have already stated, was on 
horseback, and a servant well mounted always 
went with the master to open the gates. The 
roads were mere driftways. A generous hos- 
pitality left the inns to justices' courts, town 
councils and tipplers. The guest chamber was 
seldom empty, and the fireside all the more 
cheerful for the face of a stranger. 

Public provisions for education were insuffi- 
cient. Their place was supplied for boys by 
private tutors, or by board in the family of a 



268 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAjSTD. 

learned clergyman to prepare them for college. 
The girls were sometimes sent to Boston to study 
accomplishments. They loved reading, each gen- 
eration having its favorite in verse and in prose. 
Of those nearest to us Pope was the poet. Pri- 
vate libraries were numerous and well selected, 
though not large. 

Amusements took their character from country 
life. The young men loved races on the beach 
with their Narragansett pacers, and a silver tank- 
ard for the winner. They all loved quahaug 
roasts on the shores, where deep beds of shells 
still remain to bear witness to their festivities. 
They loved to hunt the fox and the deer with hound 
and horn, and exercise their skill in starting and 
following up the partridge and woodcock and 
quail. They would lie on the frozen ground in 
the cold winter dawn to get a shot at a duck or a 
wild goose and trap the timid rabbit in snow. 
No hardship was too great that brought them to 
their game. In May they went in merry parties 
to Hartford to eat bloated salmon. 

In such a state of society weddings were great 
festivals, and more especially for the display of 
dress. The bride came robed in stiff brocade 
with towering head dress and high heeled shoes. 
The bridegroom, in scarlet coat, his limbs clad in 
small-cloths and silken hose, with laced ruffles on 
his wrists, and brilliant buckles on his shoes, and 
his hair curled and frizzled, or suspended behind 
in a queue. Friends and kindred came from far 



HISTORY OF KIIODE ISLAND. 269 

and near, sometimes as many as six hundred be- 
ing gathered to witness tlie nuptial rites and 
join in the wedding dance. 

But the great pastime for young and old, for 
matron and maid and for youth just blushing into 
manhood, was the autumn husking, when neigh- 
bors met at each other's corn-yards to husk each 
other's corn ; sometimes husking a thousand 
bushels in a single meeting. Husking had its 
laws, and never were laws better obeyed. For 
every red ear the lucky swain could claim a kiss 
from every maid ; with every smoot ear he 
smooched the faces of his mates amid laughter 
and joyous shoutings ; but when the prize fell to 
a girl she would walk the round demurely, look 
each eager aspirant in the face, and hide or reveal 
the secret of her heart by a kiss. Then came the 
dance and supper, running deep into the night 
and often encroaching upon the early dawn. 

I have spoken of slavery and the repeated at- 
tempts Rhode Island made to shake it off. Tlie 
number of slaves was not large, and for the most 
part they were treated kindly. Still servitude 
implied degradation, and the habit of looking 
down upon human beings could not but react 
unfavorably upon the character and habits of the 
masters themselves. It was a softening of their 
lot that in the regular festivals the negroes had 
their share, their dances and their suppers, and 
even their elections, when they elected and in- 
stalled their governor, and feasted luxuriously at 
the expense of their masters. 



OHAPTEE XXX. 

COMMERCIAL GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Rhode Islat^d came well prepared to her new 
duties. She had worked out in her own experi- 
ence the most important problems of civil or- 
ganization, rendering "unto Csesar the things 
that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are 
God's." Her legislation was the rellection of her 
culture, and her statute book the record of her 
progress in the science of self-government. Her 
colonial life had been a constant struggle with 
jealous neighbors who coveted her beautiful bay 
and detested her "soul liberty." Out of this 
struggle she came stronger and more resolute for 
the discipline it gave her, yet not without some 
marks of the strife. She had learned to appre- 
hend danger from afar off and cultivate jealousy 
as a safeguard, and hence she sometimes as in her 
refusal to grant the impost duty, was guided by 
a keen sense of her rights as a sovereign state, 
rather than a deep conviction of her obligations 
as member of a confederation. Hence also, she 
had hesitated three years on the borders of union, 
and seen her sister states enter it one by one 
before she could bring herself to make over to 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 271 

a central government even those portions of 
authority which a central government could 
administer so much more in her interest than 
she. But she was wiser for the struggle, and 
full of resolution and hope entered boldly upon 
her new career. 

We have seen that Rhode Island began very 
early to seek her fortune on the water. Ship 
building was one of the earliest forms which her 
enterprise assumed. Already in March, 1790, 
the shipping ot* Providence alone consisted of 
nine ships, thirty-six brigs, forty-five sloops and 
twenty schooners, forming in all a tonnage of ten 
thousand five hundred and ninety. To man this 
commercial fleet the same town had a population 
of six thousand three hundred and eighty to 
draw from. Newport, though no longer holding 
the same position Avhicli she held before the war, 
was still an active seaport. The population of 
the whole State had risen to sixty-eight thousand 
eight hundred and twenty-five. 

The most active commerce had been that of the 
West Indies. But with peace a wider field was 
opened, and ships sent directly to the East Indies. 
Raw material of various kinds was sent to Europe, 
and European manufactures brought back in 
return. It was soon evident that the new State 
would profit England more by equal commerce 
than by dependence. Yet it was not all at once 
that the financial errors of the Revolution could 
be repaired, or the bitterness engendered by civil 



272 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

war assuaged. A deep rooted hostility to England 
had taken hold of many minds, to bear its fruits 
when republican France claimed sympathy as a 
sister republic. 

We have already registered the birth of manu- 
factures. Circumstances favored their growth 
and prepared the wa}^ for a development which has 
made the smallest one of the richest states of the 
Union. A great river runs through it, widening at 
its mouth into a spacious bay. Deep ponds of 
pure water dot its surface, and limpid stream- 
lets which swell -with every rain send from every 
upland their tributes to the bay. How should 
these waters be subjected to the will of man? 
Samuel Slater, a native of Derbyshire, had served 
an apprenticeship to Jedediah Strutt, the partner 
of Arkwright, and learned the secret of the new 
method of spinning cotton. Heavy penalties 
were affixed to the exportation of the new 
machiner}^ But Slater had made himself master 
of the theory as well as the practice of the art, 
and seems to have been casting about him for a 
way of turning his knowledge to account, when 
he learned that the State of Pennsylvania had 
offered a bounty for the 'introduction of it. 
Thus American manufactures owe their birth to 
protection- The story was a simple one. Slater 
came to America bringing the secret v/ith him. 
In Moses Brown, of Providence, he found a 
judicious counselor, in William Almy and Smith 
Brown enterprising capitalists. On the 21st of 



HISTORY OF KIIODE ISLAND. 273 

December, 1790, and on the Pawtucket Kiver, the 
first factory went into operation. On that day 
and by the hand of Samuel Slatei-, the destiny 
of Rhode Island was decided. 

In these days of mingled hope and fear, on the 
19th of July, 1785, closed the long and useful 
career of Stephen Hopkins, whose name is closely 
interwoven with all that is greatest and best in 
Rhode Island history ; an astronomer of no mean 
pretensions, a statesman of broad views and deep 
penetration, a supreme executive, prompt, ener- 
getic and fearless, a genial companion when wise 
men relax from care, and a trusty counselor when 
the duties of life bear heaviest on the scrupulous 
conscience. 

The tranquil growth of manufactures affords 
few materials for general history, in which it ap- 
pears by its results rather than by its processes. 
Statistics take the place of narrative, and except 
in controlling and inventive minds the story of 
man himself is the story of a machine. 

Meanwhile another seed was sown in this fruit- 
ful ground, and another name was associated with 
a great public benefaction, the name of John How- 
land, a native of Newport, but from his ninth 
year a resident of Providence and a barber by 
trade, became, in 1799, the father of the free school 
system of Rhode Island. Not all at once was 
this good work done, but slowly and in spite of 
much opposition, chiefly from the poor who were 
to profit most by it. Years w^ere yet to pass 
18 



274 HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

before the pride as well as the consciences of the 
people became enlisted in its behalf. 

In the commercial history of the State the 
foundation of the Providence Bank, in 1791, was 
an event of great importance, to be followed at 
intervals by others with various degrees of suc- 
cess. But among them all not one bore so 
directly upon the moral growth of the commun- 
ity as the Providence Institution for Savings, 
founded in 1819. 

Great hopes were founded on a canal connect- 
ing the tide-water of Providence River with the 
north line of the State. A company for this 
purpose was formed in 1796, and so great was 
the confidence which the undertaking inspired, 
that John Brown, a leading merchant of Provi- 
dence, subscribed forty thousand dollars to the 
stock. The project failed, and though enthusias- 
tically renewed in 1823, failed again and forever. 

The yellow fever belongs to our record, and 
Rhode Island came in for a full share of the 
destruction occasioned by the September gale of 
1815. Most towns hand down from generation to 
generation the story of some great fire which 
swept over it in its young days, leaving ruin and 
desolation in its path. The "great fire" of 
Providence was the fire of 1801, the memory of 
which still lives in the traditions of our own 
generation. 

Pleasant memories also belong to our record. 
When Washington made his first visit to the 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 275 

East as President, Rhode Island had not yet 
entered the Union. When she did he made a 
second visit to the East in recognition of her 
accession, and was enthusiastically welcomed. 
He had already been there under very different 
circumstances during the war. 

We have spoken of John Howland as a public 
benefactor. Another of these benefactors of 
their race was Ebenezer Knight Dexter, founder 
of the Dexter Asylum, who having amassed a 
large fortune in honorable commerce, gave sixty 
thousand dollars of it to the support of the 
poor. A still more important movement was 
made in the interest of the poor, when the first 
temperance meeting was held in Providence in 
1827. 

We saw how a charter had been granted to 
Newport and taken from her. In 1829 an attempt 
was made to obtain a charter for Providence and 
failed. Two years later a serious riot occurred 
in which some property was destroyed and some 
lives were lost. It became evident to the friends 
of good order that a more efficient government was 
required to hold in check a population of sixteen 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-two souls ; for 
to that number had Providence risen in 1830. A 
charter was applied for and easily obtained, and 
on the 22d of November, 1832, the Town of 
Providence became a city. Samuel W. Bridgham 
was the first Mayor. 

Thouo-h never the seat of war during the war of 



276 HISTORY OF rhodp: island. 

1812, the name of Rhode Island is closely con- 
nected with it, through Oliver H. Perry, one of 
the greatest of naval commanders. She bore her 
part also in the sufferings occasioned by the 
embargo, and the other rash measures of a gov- 
ernment which rushed headlong and wholly un- 
prepared into a war with the most powerful nation 
on earth. Fully sharing also in the just discon- 
tent of the Eastern States, she sent four delegates 
to the much maligned Hartford Convention. 



CHAPTEK XXXI. 

THE DORR REBELLION. 

We have seen that the relation of the citizen 
to the State became the subject of attention and 
experiment at an early period in the history of 
Rhode Island. Although an avowed democracy, 
she regarded suffrage not as an inherent right, 
but as a privilege dependent upon the fulfillment 
of certain specified conditions. Inequality of 
representation was a natural consequence of the 
unequally increased population ; some towns 
growing faster than others, but having no more 
voice in legislation than they had had at the be- 
ginning of their civil existence. The right to vote 
was held to be an important right, and great pains 
were taken to secure purity at the polls. But it 
was evident that all the tax-payers would sooner 
or later claim to be voters. This question recurs 
from time to time in all its ramifications, and 
though long deferred, became at last the chief 
question of Rhode Island politics. 

For more than two-thirds of a century she had 
lived under the Charter of Charles II., first as a 
Colony and lastly as a State. This Charter was 
framed in the broad and liberal spirit of Roger 
Williams and John Clarke, and left room for 



278 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

large developments in every department of legiti- 
mate thought and action. 

Unfortunately what might have been brought 
about by peaceful discussion was gradually 
fanned into the fiercest flame. Providence had 
entirely outgrown her old rival, Newport, and 
yet Newport had a representation of six in the 
Assembly, and Providence of only four. In other 
towns the disproportion was equally great. The 
property qualification also, a freehold of a hun- 
dred and thirty-four dollars, was bitterly opposed 
by those who had no freehold. In 1840 seventy- 
two representatives were chosen. Thirty-eight 
were chosen from towns having only twenty-nine 
thousand and twenty inhabitants and two thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty- six voters, and the 
remaining thirty-four came from towns which had 
only seventy-nine thousand eight hundred and 
four inhabitants, and five thousand seven hundred 
and seventy-six voters. 

Equally irritating to those who had no share 
in it was the right conferred by primogeniture. 

For many years these questions were prominent 
subjects of discussion, and were even brought 
forward as the most important objects of legisla- 
tive action. But no relief could be obtained from 
the Assembly, for the Assembly itself was chiefly 
composed of the privileged classes. From the 
Assembly there was but one appeal — the appeal 
to the people, and upon the form of this appeal 
lay the choice between reform and revolution. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 279 

This is the event known in Rhode Island history 
as the Dorr Rebellion. 

The first step towards action was the formation 
of suffrage associations, by which the public 
mind was excited and the popular will roused to 
exertion. All through the last weeks of 1840 
and the first weeks of 1841, these associations 
were busy in guiding, kindling and stimulating 
the popular mind, and preparing it for decisive 
action. All classes were roused, for the contest 
was at every door, and every citizen was equally 
interested in the result. 

The suffrage associations did their work actively 
and well. By the 5tli of July, 1841, a mass con- 
vention was held in Providence, and the State 
Committee was authorized to call a convention 
for the formation of a Constitution. Confident 
of their strength the committee set themselves 
to their task. On the 28th of August delegates 
were chosen, and on the 4th of October the con- 
vention met. In this convention a Constitution 
was framed, and in December sent out to the peo- 
ple as the People' s Constitution. Fourteen thou- 
sand voters, a majority, it was claimed, of all the 
male adult voters in the State, cast their votes 
for it. It claimed to be the will of the people 
authoritatively expressed. There was one more 
step to take, the consequence and complement of 
all that had hitherto been done, to complete the 
organization by the election of officers. The 18th 
of April, 1842, was fixed upon for this gravest 



280 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

function of freemen, and Thomas Wilson Dorr, of 
Providence, was chosen Governor. 

Votes had done all that the mere expression of 
opinion could do. But underlying ever}^ lawful 
vote was the law which gave it validity, and this 
law had prescribed the form and manner in which 
these votes became effective. It had said that 
while' the source of all power was in the people, 
the people themselves in order to secure progress 
and guard against revolution had set limits to 
their authority, and told when, where and for 
what it should be employed. 

And now it was seen that there was another 
government which claimed to be in sole possession 
of this power, and the moment that the new gov- 
ernment attempted to perform its executive func- 
tions it found itself face to face with the old. It 
was evident that one of the two parties must give 
way or there must be a collision and bloodshed. 

The first attempt of the Suffragists to organize 
was made at Providence on the 3d of May, and 
was repelled. The moral strength was with the 
charter government which had the chartered 
companies, the organized militia and a strong 
body of volunteers at its control. It had also 
the strong moral support of that clause in the 
Constitution of the United States which guaran- 
tees to every state a republican government and 
protection against internal violence. Should 
Federal intervention become necessary, the time 
and the form of it had been provided for. But 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 281 

it was not needed. We have seen that on the 3d 
of May the government of Governor Dorr had 
attempted to displace the government of Gov- 
ernor King, and failed. On the 18th an attempt 
was made to seize the Arsenal, which also failed. 
Men who had grown up side by side in peaceful 
intimacy, had seized their arms under a strong 
political excitement, but when the moment for 
using them came, shrank from the fearful respon- 
sibility. Hundreds would have fought gallantly, 
but no one was prepared to begin. And thus 
when on the 25th of June an attempt was made 
to make a stand at Chepachet, the Suffragists gave 
way at the approach of the State troops, and re- 
turned to their homes without shedding a drop 
of blood. By the 28th of June all was over. 
The great body of the insurgents went quietly 
back to their stores and their farms. Their leader 
was tried for treason and condemned to imprison- 
ment for life. But Rhode Island was not a place 
where so severe a punishment could be meted out 
to such an offence. In 1847 an act of general 
amnesty set him free, and in 1851 he was restored 
to his political and civil rights. Forgiveness went 
still further, and his sentence was reversed as 
illegal and unjust. But the Supreme Court 
refused to sustain this reversal as an assumption 
of judicial authority by the Legislature. Dorr's 
early death left him no time for new aspirations. 
Meanwhile a new convention for the framing 
of a new Constitution had been called by the 



282 HISTOKY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

regularly constituted authorities, and a new draft 
submitted to the people. But this also was re- 
jected. Another attempt was made, another 
convention called. Argument and discussion 
were exhausted. The popular mind was prepared 
for decision. The popular will called for it. The 
last day of the old Charter was come. At an 
adjourned meeting of the convention, held at 
East Greenwich on the 5th of November, a final 
decision was reached and a Constitution unani- 
mously agreed upon. On the first Tuesday in 
May, 1843, it went into operation. 

And thus Rhode Island, while she adhered 
firmly to the principle of freedom of opinion, 
adhered no less firmly to the principle of law 
and order. The Dorr Rebellion was the resist- 
ance of law to revolution, of order to the arbitrary 
assumption of power. Rhode Island had begun 
her career by a practical profession of freedom of 
thought and freedom of speech. She had strug- 
gled long and hard to secure them both, and now 
the day of reward was at hand. Henceforth the 
industries of peace will bring her wealth from 
the land and the sea, the salubrity of her climate 
will raise up on her inland and on her shores 
a thriving and vigorous population, and while in 
some things she will take tlie lead of her sister 
states, in no thing will she fall far behind. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

LIFE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. — THE WAR OP THE 
REBELLION.— THE CENTENARY. 

With the adoption of the new Constitution 
business returned to its natural channels. Party 
animosities lost somewhat of their bitterness as 
the various forms of industry revived, and old 
friends were again brought into daily communi- 
cation under the healing influence of common 
interests and common pleasures. The story of 
these calm pursuits brings out in pleasant relief 
the every-day virtues of domestic life and the 
higher qualities of combination and invention, 
but it seldom addresses itself to the imagination, 
or excites and surprises by glowing appeals to the 
passions. The happiest periods of history are 
those which are the most barren of incident. 

Meanwhile one of the great epoclis of our his- 
tory was at hand, and Rhode Island was again 
called upon to furnish the materials for battles 
which were to be fought at a distance from her 
own soil. The war of secession found her, like 
her sisters, unprepared for the great struggle in 
which humanity had so much at stake, and which 
soon made it manifest that industrious peace is 
the best of preparations for a war of principle. 
Within three days after President Lincoln issued 



284 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

his proclamation calling for troops for the de- 
fence of Washington, a body of Rhode Islanders, 
well armed and equipped, was on its way thither. 
As the war continued she still met its increasing 
demands, till the sum-total of her contributions 
amounted to twenty-four thousand and forty-two, 
upon a population of one hundred and eighty- 
four thousand nine hundi^ed and sixty-five. Of 
these, two hundred and fifty-five were killed ; one 
thousand two hundred and sixty -three died of 
wounds or disease ; one thousand two hundred 
and forty-nine were wounded. 

As some readers may wish for more detail, I 
give the following statement, for which I am in- 
debted to the politeness of Adjutant-General 
Heber Le Favour : 

"There went into the field from Rhode Island 
during the late rebellion, twenty-four thousand 
and forty- two men ; of which the infantry num- 
bered ten thousand three hundred and eighty-two ; 
cavalry, four thousand three hundred and ninety- 
four ; heavy artillery, five thousand six hundred 
and forty-four ; light artillery, two thousand nine 
hundred and seventy-seven ; navy, six hundred 
and forty-five. This number is in excess of the 
actual number of persons furnished by the State, 
as many of them appear several times on the 
record under the head of promotions or re-enlist- 
ments after discharge from their three months, 
nine months, or three years terms of service. 

Two hundred and fifty-five were killed, one 
thousand two hundred and sixty-five died of 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 285 

wounds or disease, and one thousand two hundred 
and forty-nine were wounded. There were eight 
regiments of infantry, of which three were for three 
months and two for nine months. There were three 
regiments of cavahy for three years, and one squa- 
dron for three months. There were three regiments 
of heavy artillery. There was one regiment of 
light artillery, composed of eight light batteries, 
and there were also two light batteries for three 
months service. One company of infantry was 
stationed at Portsmouth Grove as Hospital 
Guards." 

On the 4th of July, 1876, the United States of 
America ended the hrst century of their national 
existence ; a century of marvellous experiences 
throughout the civilized world ; of experiences 
in the science of government, which bear directly 
upon the moral development of man and experien- 
ces in the physical sciences which minister directly 
and indirectly both to his material wants and to 
the demands of his intellectual nature. Civiliza- 
tion had reached in those hundred years a height 
and a completeness which it had never reached 
before. 

Proud of what they had done, confident of 
what they could do, they invited the other civil- 
ized nations, their elders by centuries, to bring 
the choicest productions of their art and industry 
and set them side by side with those of the young 
republic. In this comparison how well Rhode 
Island bore her part the following list will show : 



286 HISTOEY OF EHODE ISLAND. 

Rhode Island was conspicuous at the Exposi- 
tion for the excellence of her products in the fol- 
lowing departments : ^ 

First — Machinery, including new inventions. 

Second — Cotton fabrics, including sheeting and 
shirting, calico, fine muslins, jeans, drillings, etc. 

Third — Woolen fabrics, broad cloths, cassi- 
meres, shawls, worsteds, etc. 

Fourth — Wood screws. (American Screw Co., 
Providence.) 

Fifth — Fire-arms, rifles, carabines chiefly. 
The Peabody -Martini rifle furnished the Turkish 
government an arm of great excellence. (Provi- 
dence Tool Co.) 

Sixth — Fabrics of India rubber. (The Bristol 
Works.) 

Seventh— '^Wye^ and plated ware. (Gorham's.) 

Eighth — Steam engines. 

Ninth — Hair cloth. (Various companies in 
Pawtucket. 

Tenth — Files and mechanics' tools. 

Eleventh — Stoves and furnaces. (Chiefly the 
product of the Barstow Works.) 

Twelfth — Chemical manufactures. 



* For the above list I am indebted to my friend, Hon. J. R. Bartlott. to whom 
Rhode Island is indebted for the preservation and publication of her Colonial 
Records. 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 287 

And here I stay my hand. I have spoken 
kindly of the State of my birth, but mindful of 
the historian's first duty, I have striven in every 
thing to speak truthfully. It is an unvarnished 
tale, and yet there is a moral grandeur in it far 
beyond the grandeur of battle-fields and thrones. 
By deep and earnest convictions, by unwavering 
faith and unshaken resolution, Rhode Island has 
worked out for herself and for mankind one of 
the grandest problems of civilization. 

It is the privilege of history that it teaches by 
examples. It is good for man that such men 
as Roger Williams and John CJark, should have 
lived. It is for the glory of Rhode Island that 
men like these, searching for a spot whereon they 
might build and live with unfettered consciences, 
should have chosen her for their dwelling place. 



Author's Notes. 

(Referrin;/ to pcKje 196.) This is not strictly accurate. It was in 
lionor of Nicholas, not John Brown, and several years after its 
removal from AVarren to Providence, that the name of Rhode Island 
College was changed to Brown University, 

It was in July, 1777, during the occupation of NewiDort by the British, 
that William Barton, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Rhode Island militia, 
performed his hrilliant exploit of the capture of the British General 
Prescott ; passing three British frigates unobserved and carrying off 
the British General in his night-clothes. Congress rewarded him with 
a gift of a sword, and what was still more valuable, a commission as 
Colonel in the Continental army. 






n 



'BLISllED BVy^ 
^o'A, <& iRoJ>\.,Il^I!]Ii]i),1 

A ShortIIis TonropTiiUDE Isi^isD 
BraMU bj J. C. Thorn psan. 




^ppcntitif. 



iljc (fl)artet, 



GRANTED BY KING CHARLES 11. , 

July 8, 1663, and in force until the adoption of the Constitution, 
November, 1842. 



Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scot- 
land, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., to all to whom 
these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas, we have been informed, 
by the humble petition of our tr xsty and well-beloved subject, John 
Clarke, on the behalf of Benjamin Arnold, William Brenton, William 
Codington, Nicholas Easton, William Boulston, John Porter, John 
Smith, Samuel Gorton, John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, 
Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph Clarke, Randall Holden, 
John Greene, John Roome, Samuel Wildbore, William Field, James 
Barker, Richard Tew, Thomas Harris, and William Dyre, and the 
rest of the purchasers and free inhabitants of our island, called Rhode 
Island, and the rest of the Colony of Providence Plantations, in the 
Narragansett Bay, in New England, in America, that they, pursuing, 
with peaceable and loyal minds, their sober, serious, and religious 
intentions, of godly edifying themselves, and one another, in the holy 
Christian faith and worship, as they were persuaded; together with 
the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant Indian natives, 
in those parts of America to the sincere profession and obedience of 
the same faith and worship, did, not only by the consent and good 
encouragement of our royal progenitors, transport themselves out of this 
kingdom of England into America, but also, since their arrival there, 
after their first "settlement amongst other our subjects in those parts, 
for the avoiding of discord, and those many evils which were likely to 
ensue upon some of those our subjects not being able to bear, in these 
remote parts, their different apprehensions in religious concernments, 
and in pursuance of the aforesaid ends, did once again leave their 
desirable stations and habitations, and with excessive labor and travel, 
hazard and charge did transplant themselves into the midst of the 
Indian natives, who, as we are informed, are the most potent princes 
and people of all that countrv; where, by the good Providence of God, 
from whom the Plantations have taken their name, u])on their labor 
and industry, they have not only been preserved to admiration, but 
have increased and prospered, and are seized and possessed, by pur- 
chase and consent of the said natives, to their full content, of such 
lands, islands, rivers, harbors and roads, as are very convenient, both 
for plantations, and also for building of ships, supply of pipe-staves, 
and other merchandize; and which lie veiy commodious, in many 
respects, for commerce, and to accommodate our southern plantations, 



292 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

and may much advance the trade of this our reahn, and greatly 
enlarge the the territories thereof; they having by near neighborliood 
to and friendly society with the' great body of the Narragansett Indians, 
given them encouragement of their oAvn accord, to subject themselves, 
their people and lands, unto us; whereby, as is hoped, there may, in 
time, by the blessing of God uj)on their endeavors be laid a sure 
foundation of happiness to all America: And whereas, in their hum- 
ble address, they have freely declared, that it is much on their hearts 
(if they may be permitted) to hold forth a lively experiment, that a 
most nourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and 
that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious con- 
cernments; and that true piety rightly grounded upon gospel princi- 
ples, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will 
lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty: 
Now, know ye, that we, being willing to encourage the hopeful under- 
taking of our said loyal and loving subjects, and to secure them in the 
free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights, 
appertaining to them, as our loving subjects; and to preserve unto 
them that liberty, in the true Christian faith and worship of God, 
which they have sought with so much travail, and with peaceable 
minds, and loyal siibjection to ovir royal progenitors and ourselves, to 
enjoy; and because some of the people and inhabitants of the same 
colony cannot, in their private opinions, conform to the public exercise 
of religion, according to the liturgy, forms and ceremonies of the 
Church of England, or take or subscribe the oaths and articles made 
and established in that behalf; and for that the same, by reason of the 
remote distances of those places, will (as we hope) be no breach of the 
unity and uniformity established in this nation: Have therefore 
thought lit, and do hereby publish, grant, ordain and declare. That 
our royal will and pleasure is, that no person within the said Colony, 
at any time hereafter, shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted, 
or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of 
religion, and do not actually disti;rb the civil peace of our said Colony; 
but that all and every ijerson and persons may, from time to time, 
and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and 
their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concern- 
ments, throughout the tract of land hereafter mentioned, they behav- 
ing tliemselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to 
licentiousness and iirofaneness, nor to the civil injury or outward dis- 
turbance of others, any law, statute, or clause therein contained, or to 
be contained, usage or custom of this realm, to the contrary hereof, in 
any wise, notwitlistanding. And that they may be in the better 
capacity to defend themselves, in their just rights and liberties, 
against all the enemies of the Christian faith, and others, in all 
respects, we have further thought fit, and at the humble petition of 
the persons aforesaid are graciously pleased to declare. That they shall 
have and enjoy the benefit of our late act of indemnity and free par- 
don, as the rest of our subjects in other our dominions and territories 
have; and to create and make them a body politic or corporate, with 
the powers and privileges hereinafter mentioned. And accordingly 
our will and pleasure is, and of our especial grace, certain knowledge, 
and mere motion, we have ordained, constituted and declared, and by 
these presents, for us, our heirs and successois, do ordain, constitute 
and declare, That they, the said William Brenton, William Coding- 
ton, Nicholas Easton, Benedict Arnold, William Boulstcn, John 
Porter, Samuel Gorton, John Smith, John Weeks, Roger Williams, 
Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Ccggeshall, Joseph Clarke, 
Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, William Dyre, Samuel 
Wildbore, Richard Tew, William Field, Thomas Harris, James Bar- 
ker, Rainsborrow, Williams, and John Nickson, and 



APPENDIX. 293 

all such others as now are, or hereafter sli:ill be, admitted and made 
free of the company and society of our CJolony of J'rovidence I'lanta- 
tions, m the Narraj;ansett Bay, in New Enuiand. shall he In.ni time 
totmie, and forever hereafter, a body corporate and politic, in fact 
and name, by the name of the (Jovern'or and Company of tlu^ En<<lish 
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New Enj^laiid, 
in America; and that, by the same name, thev and their successors 
shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall and mav be per- 
sons able and capable, in the law, to sue and be sued, to plead aiul be 
impleaded, to answer, and be answered unto, to defend and to be de- 
fended, in all and singular suits, causes, quarrels, matters, actions, 
and things, of what kind or nature soever; and also to liave, take, 
possess, acquire, and purchase lands, tenements or hereditaments, or 
any goods or chattels, and the same to lease, grant, demise, aliene, 
bargain, sell and dispose of, at their own will and pleasure, 
as other our liege people of this our realm of England, or 
any corporation or body politic, within the same, may lawfully 
do. And further, that they the said Governor and Com- 
pany, and their successors, shall and may, forever hereafter, 
have a common seal, to serve and use for all matters, causes, 
things and affairs, Avhatsoever, of them, and their successors; and the 
same seal to alter, change, break, and make new, from time to time, 
at their will and pleasure, as they sliall think fit. And furtlier, we 
will and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and succes- 
sors, do declare and appoint that, for the better ordering and managing 
of the affairs and business of the said Company, and their successors, 
there shall be one Governor, one Deputy-Governor and ten Assistants, 
to be from time to time, constituted, elected and chosen, out of the 
freemen of the said Company, for the time being, in such manner and 
form as is hereafter in these presents expressed, which said otlicers 
shall apply themselves to take care for the best disposing and ordering 
of the general business and affairs of and concerning tlie lands, and 
hereditaments hereinafter mentioned to he granted, and the planta- 
tion thereof, and the government of the people there. And, for the 
better execution of our royal pleasure herein, we do, for us, our heirs 
and successors, assign, name, constitute, and appoint the aforesaid 
Benedict Arnold to be the first and present Governor of the said Com- 
pany, and the said William Brenton to be the Deputy-Governor, and 
the said William Boulston, John Porter, Roger Williams, Thomas 
Olney, John Smith, John Greene, John Coggeshall, James Barker, 
William Field, and Joseph Clarke, to be the ten present Assistants 
of the said Company, to continue in the said several ottices, respec- 
tively, until the first Wednesday which shall he in the month of May 
now next coming. And further, we will, and by these presents, for 
us, our heirs and sucessors, do ordain and grant that the Governor of 
the said Company, for the time being, or, in his absence, by occasion 
of sickness, or otherwise, by his leave and permission, the Deputy- 
Governor, for the time being, shall and may, from time to time, upon 
all occasions, give order for the assembling of the said Company, and 
calling them together, to consult and advise of the business and affairs 
of the said Company. And that forever hereafter, twice in every 
year, that is to say, on everv first Wednesday in the month of May, 
and on every last Wednesday in October, or oftener, in case it shall be 
requisite, the Assistants and such of the freemen of the said Com- 
pany, not exceeding six persons for Newport, four persons lor each of 
the respective towns of Providence, Portsmouth, and ^^ arwick, and 
two persons for each other place, town or city, who shall be. from time 
to time, thereunto elected or deputed by the major part ol the freemen 
of the respective towns or places for which they shall be so elected or 
deputed, shall have a general meeting or assembly, then and there 



294 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

to consult, advise and determine, in and about the affairs and business 
of the said Company and Plantations. And, further, we do, of our 
especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, give and grant 
unto the said Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America, and 
their successors, that the Governor, or, in his absence, or, by his per- 
mission, the Deputy-Governor, of the said Company, for the time 
being, the Assistants, and such of the freemen of the said Company 
as shall be so as aforesaid elected or deputed, or so many of them as 
shall be present at such meeting or assembly, as aforesaid, shall be 
called the General Assembly; and that they, or the greatest part of 
them present, whereof the Governor or Deputy-Governor, and six of 
the Assistants, at least to be seven, shall have, and have hereby given 
and granted unto them, full power and authority, from time to time, 
and at all times hereafter, to appoint, alter and change such days, 
times and places of meeting and General Assembly, as they shall 
think fit; and to choose, nominate and appoint, such and so many 
other persons as they shall think fit, and shall be willing to accept the 
same, to be free of the said Company and body politic, and them into 
the same to admit; and to elect and constitute such offices and officers, 
and to grant such needful commissions, as they shall think fit and 
requisite, for the ordering, managing, and dispatching of the affairs 
of the said Governor and Company, and their successors; and from 
time to time, to make, ordain, constitute or repeal, such laws, statutes, 
orders and ordinances, forms and ceremonies of government and 
magistracy, as to them shall seem meet, for the good and welfare of 
the said Company, and for the government and ordering of the lands 
and hereditaments, hereinafter mentioned to be granted, and of the 
people that do, or at any time hereafter shall, inhabit or bie within the 
same; so as such laws, ordinances and constitutions, so made, be not 
contrary and repugnant unto, but as near as may be, agreeable to the 
laws of this our realm of England, considering the nature and consti- 
tution of the place and people there; and also to appoint, order and 
direct, erect and settle, such places and coiirts of jurisdiction, for the 
hearing and determining of all actions, cases, matters and things, 
happening within the said Colony and Plantation, and which shall be 
in dispute, and depending there, as they shall think fit; and also to 
distinguish and set forth the several names and titles, duties, powers 
and limits, of each court, office and officer, superior and inferior; 
and also to contrive and appoint such forms of oaths and attestations, 
not repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable, as aforesaid, to the 
laws and statutes of this our realm, as are convenient and requisite, 
with respect to the due administration of justice, and due execution 
and discharge of all offices and places of trust by the persons that 
shall be therein concerned; and also to regulate and order the way 
and manner of all elections to offices and places of trust, and to pre- 
scribe, limit and distinguish the niTmbers and bounds of all places, 
towns or cities, within the limits and bounds hereinafter mentioned, 
and not herein particularly named, who have, or shall have, the 
power of electing and sending of freemen to the said General Assem- 
bly; and also to order, direct and authorize the imposing of lawful 
and reasonable fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and executing other 
punishments, pecuniary and corporal, u])on offenders and delinquents, 
according to the course of other corporations within this our kingdom 
of England; and again to alter, revoke, annul or pardon, under thei- 
common seal, or otherwise, such fines, mulcts, imi)risonments, senr 
tences, judgments and condemnations, as shall be thought fit; and to 
direct, rule, order and dispose of, all other matters and things, and 
particularly that which relates to the making of purchases of the 
native Indians, as to them shall seem meet; whereby our said j)eople 



APPENDIX. 2i 



and inhabitants in tlie said Plantations, may be so religiously, peace- 
ably and civilly governed, as that by their good life and orderly con- 
versation, they may win and invite the native Indians of the country 
to the knowledge and obedience of the only true (iod and Saviour of 
mankind; willing, commanding and requiring, and by these presents, 
for us, our heirs and successors, ordaining and aitpoinling, that all 
such laws, statutes, orders and ordinances, instructions, impositions 
and directions, as shall be so made by the Governor, Deputy-Governor, 
Assistants and freemen, or such number of theni as aforesaid, and 
published in writing, under their common seal, shall be carefully and 
duly observed, kept, performed and put in execution, according to the 
true intent and meaning of the same. And these our letters patent, 
or the duplicate or exemplification thereof, shall be to all and every 
such otticer, superior or inferior, from time to time, for the putting of 
the same orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, instructions and directions 
in due execution, against us, our heirs and successors, a sufhcient war- 
rant and discharge. And further, our will and pleasure is, and we do 
hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, establish and ordain, that 
yearly, once in the year, forever hereafter, namely, the aforesaid 
Wednesday in May, and at the town of Newport, or elsewhere, if 
urgent occasion do require, the Governor, Deputy-Governor and 
Assistants of the said Company, and other othcers of the said Com- 
pany, or such of them as the General Assembly shall think fit, shall 
be, in the said General Court or Assembly to be held from that day or 
time, newly chosen for the year ensusing, by such greater part of the 
said Company, for the time being, as shall be then and there present; 
and if it shall happen that the present Governor. Deputy-Governor and 
Assistants, by these presents appointed, or any such as shall hereafter 
be newly chosen into their rooms, or any of them, or any other the 
ofiticers of the said Company, shall die or be removed from his 
or their several otiices or places, before the said general day of 
election, (whom we do hereby declare, for any misdemeanor or 
default, to be removable by the Governor, Assistants and (Company, 
or such greater part of them, in any of the said public courts, to be 
assembled as aforesaid,) that then, aiid in every such case, it shall and 
may be lawful to and for the said Governor, Deputy-CJovernor, 
Assistants and Company aforesaid, or such greater part of them, so to 
be assembled as is aforesaid, in any their assemblies, to proceed to a 
new election of one or more of their Company, in the room or place, 
rooms or places, of such otticer or officers, so dying or removed, 
according to their discretions ; and immediately upon and after such 
election "or elections made of such Governor, Deputy-Governor, 
Assistant or Assistants, or any other officer of the said Company, m 
manner and form aforesaid, the authority, office and power, belore 
given to the former Governor, Deputy-Governor, and other officer and 
officers, so removed, in whose stead and place new shall be chosen, 
shall, as to him and them, and every of them, respectively, cease and 
determine : Provided always, and our will and jdcasure is, that an well 
such as are bv these presents appointed to be the present Governor, 
Deputy-Governor and Assistants of the said Company, as those that 
shall succeed them, and all other officers to be ai>pointed and cliosen 
as aforesaid, shall, before the undertaking the execution ol the said 
offices and places respectively, give their .solemn engagement, by 
oath, or otherwise, for the due and faithful perlormance ol their 
duties in their several offices and places, before such person or persons 
as are bv these presents hereafter appointed to take and receive the 
same, that is to sav : the said Benedict Arnohl, who is heiymbelore 
nominated and appointed the present (Jovernor of the said C ompany, 
shall give the aforesaid engagement before William Ureiiton. (.r any 
two of the said Assistants of the said (Nmipany : unto whom w.- <lo hy 



296 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

these presents give full power and authority to require and receive the 
same ; and the said William Brenton, who is hereby before nominated 
and appointed the present Deputy-Governor of the said Comiiany, 
shall give the aforesaid engagement before the said Benedict Arnold, 
or any two of the Assistants of the said Company ; unto whom we do 
by these presents give full power and authority to require and receive 
the same ; and the said William Boulston, John Porter, Roger 
Williams, Thomias Olney, John Smith, John Greene, John Cogges- 
hall, James Barker, William Field, and Joseph Clarke who are 
herein before nominated and appointed the present Assistants of the 
said Company, shall give the said engagement to their offices and 
places respectively belonging, before the said Benedict Arnold and 
William Brenton, or one of them ; to whom respectively we do 
hereby give full power and authority to require, administer or receive 
the same: and further, our will and pleasure is, that all and every 
other future Governor or Deputy-Governor, to be elected and chosen 
"by virtue of these presents, shall give the said engagement before two 
or more of the said Assistants of tlie said Company for the time being; 
unto whom we do by these presents give full power and authority to 
require, administer or receive the same; and the said Assistants, and 
every of them, and all and every other officer or officers to be hereafter 
elected and chosen by virtue of these presents, from time to time, 
shall give the like engagements, to their offices and places respectively 
belonging, before the Governor or Deputy-Governor for the time 
being: unto which said Governor, or Deputy-Governor, we do by 
these i^resents give full power and authority to require, administer or 
receive the same accordingly. And we do likewise, for us, our heirs 
and successors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, 
and their successors, by these presents, that, for tlie more peaceable 
and orderly government of the said Plantations, it shall and may be 
lawful for the Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants and all other 
officers and ministers of the said Company, in the administration of 
justice, and exercise of government, in the said Plantations, to use, 
exercise, and put in execution, such methods, rules, orders and direc- 
tions, not being contrary or repugnant to the laws and statutes of this 
our realm, as have been heretofore given, used and accustomed, in 
such cases respectively, to be put in practice, until at the next or some 
other General Assembly, special provision shall be made and ordained 
in the cases aforesaid. And we do further, for us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and 
their successors, by these iDresents, that it shall and may be lawful to 
and for the said Governor, or, in his absence, the Deputy-Governor, 
and major part of the said Assistants, for the time being, at any time 
when the said General Assembly is not sitting, to nominate, appoint 
and constitute, such and so many commanders, governors and military 
officers, as to them shall seem requisite, for the leading, conducting 
and training up the inhabitants of the said Plantations in martial 
affairs, and for the defence and safeguard of the said Plantations: and 
that it shall and may be lawful to and for all and every such com- 
mander, governor and military officer, that shall be so as aforesaid, or 
by the Governor, or in his absence, the Deputy-Governor, and six of 
the said Assistants, and major part of the freemen of the said Com- 
pany present at any General Assemblies, nominated, appointed and 
constituted, according to the tenor of his and their respective commis- 
sions and directions to assemble, exercise in arms, martial array, and 
put in warlike posture, the inhabitants of the said Colony, for their 
special defence and safety; and to lead and conduct the said inhabitants, 
and to encounter, expulse, expel and resist, by force of arms, as well 
by sea as by land, and also to kill, slay and destroy, by all fitting 
ways, enteri)rises and means, whatsoever, all and every such person or 



APPENDIX. 297 

persons as shall, at any time hereafter, attenii)t or entcritriso the 
destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of the said inliahitants 
or Plantations; and to use and exercise the law martial in such cases 
only as occasion shall necessarily require; and to take or surprise, by 
all ways and means Avhatsoever, all and every such person and per- 
sons, with their ship or shijjs, armor, ammunition or otlicr t^oods of 
such persons, as shall, in hostile manner, invade cu- attemi»t the 
defeating of the said Plantation, or the hurt of the said Company and 
inhabitants; and xipon just causes, to invade and destroy the native 
Indians, or other enemies of the said Colony. Nevertheless, our will 
and pleasure is, and we do hereby declare to the rest of our Colonies 
in New England, that it shall not be lawful for this our said Colony of 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in America, in New Eng- 
land, to invade the natives iidiabiting within the bounds and limits of 
their said Colonies, without the knowledge and consent of the said 
other Colonies. And it is hereby declared, that it shall not be lawful 
to or for the rest of the Coloiiies to invade or molest the native Indians 
or any other inhabitants inhabiting within the bounds and limits here- 
after mentioned, (they having subjected themselves iinto us, and being 
by us taken into our special protection,) without the knowledge and 
consent of the Governor and Company of our Colony of Phode Island 
and Providence Plantations. Also our will and pleasvire is, and we do 
hereby declare unto all Christian Kings, Princes and States, that if 
any person, which shall hereafter be of the said Ccmipany or Planta- 
tions or any other, by appointment of the said Governor and Com- 
pany for the time beiiig shall at any time or times hereafter, rob or 
spoil, by sea or land, or do any hurt or unlawful hostility to any of 
the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, or any of the subjects of any 
Prince or State, being then in league with us, our heirs or successors, 
upon complaint of such injury done to any such Prince or State, or 
their subjects, we, our heirs and successors, will make open proclama- 
tion within any parts of our realm of England, tit for that purpose, 
that the person or persons committing any such robbery or spoil, shall, 
within the time linjited by such proclamation, make full restitution, 
or satisfaction of all such injuries, done or committed, so as the said 
Prince, or others so complaining, may be fully satisfied and 
contented; and if the said person or persons who shall commit 
any such robbery or spoil shall not make satisfaction, accordingly, 
wuthin such time, so to be limited, that then we, our heirs and 
successors, will put such person or persons out of our allegiance 
and protection ; and that then it shall and may be lawful and 
free for all Princes or others to prosecute witli hostility, such 
offenders, and every of them, their and every of their pro- 
curers, aiders, abettors, and counsellors, in that behalf : Pw- 
vided also, and our express will and pleasure is, and we do, by 
these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, ordain and appoint 
that these presents, shall not, in any manner, hinder any ol our loving 
subjects, whatsoever, from using and exercising the trade of fishing 
upon the coast of New England, in America; but that they, and every 
or any of them, shall have full and free power and liberty to continue 
and use the trade of fishing upon the said coast, m any of the se;is 
thereunto adjoining, or any arms of the seas, or .salt water, rivers and 
creeks, where thev have been accustomed to fish: and to build and to 
setnponthe waste land belonging to the said Colony and 1 lantatioiKS, 
such wharves, stages and work-houses as shall be necessary lor the salt- 
ing, drying and keeping of their fish, to be taken or gotten ujion tliat 
coast. ■ And further, for the encouragement of the inhabitants of our 
said Colony of Providence Plantations to set upon the business of 
taking whales, it shall be lawful for them, or any of them having 
struck whale, dubertus, or other great fish, it or them, to pursue unto 



298 HISTOEY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

any part of that coast, and into any bay, river, cove, creek, or shore, 
belonging thereto, and it or them, upon the said coast, or in the said 
bay, river, cove, creek, or shore, belonging thereto, to kill and order 
for the best advantage, without molestation, they making no wilful 
waste or spoil; anything in these presents contained, or any other 
matter or thing, to the contrary, notwithstanding. And further 
also, we are graciously pleased, and do liereby declare, that if any of 
the inhabitants of our said Colony do set upon the planting of vine- 
yards (the soil and climate both seeming naturally to concur to the 
production of wines) or be industrious in the discovery of fishing 
banks, in or about the said Colony, we will, from time to time, give 
and allow all due and fitting encouragement therein, as to others, in 
cases of like nature. And further, of our more ample grace, certain 
knowledge and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by 
these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant unto 
the said Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New 
England, in America, and to every inhabitant there, and to every 
person and persons, trading thither, and to every siich person or per- 
sons as are or shall be free of the said Colony, full power and authority, 
from time to time, and at all times hereafter, to take, ship, transport 
and carry away, out of any of our realms and dominions, for and 
towards the plantation and defence of the said Colony, such and so 
many of our loving subjects and strangers as shall or will willingly 
accompany them in and to their said Colony and Plantation ; except 
such person or persons as are or shall be therein restrained by us, our 
heirs and successors, or any law or statute of this realm: and also to 
ship and transport all and all manner of goods, chattels, merchandizes 
and other things whatsoever, that are or shall be useful or necessary 
for the said Plantations, and defence thereof, and usually transported, 
and not prohibited by any law or statute of this our realm; yielding 
and jiaying unto us, our heirs and successors, such the duties, customs 
and subsidies, as are or ought to be paid or payable for the same. 
And further, our will and pleasure is, and we do, for us, our heirs and 
successors, ordain, declare, and grant unto the said Governor and 
Company, and their successors, that all and every the subjects of us, 
our heirs and successors, which are already planted and settled within 
our said Colony of Providence Plantations, or which shall hereafter 
go to inhabit within the said Colony, and all and every of their chil- 
dren, which have been born there, or which shall happen hereafter to 
be born there, or on the sea, going thither, or returning from thence, 
shall have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural 
subjects within any the dominions of us, our heirs or successors to all 
intents, constructions and purjjoses, whatsoever, as if they, and every 
of them, were born within the realm of England. And further, know 
ye, tliat we, of our more abundant grace, certain knowledge, and mere 
motion, have given, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, 
for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant and confirm, unto 
the said Governor and Company, and their successors, all that 
part of our dominions in New England, in America, containing 
the Nahantic, and Nanhyganset, alias Narragansett Bay, and 
countries and parts adjacent, bounded on the west, or westerly, 
to the middle of a channel or river there, commonly called and 
known by the name of Pawcatuck, alias Pawcawtuck river, and so 
along the said river, as the greater or middle stream thereof reacheth 
or lies up into the north country, northward, unto the head tliereof, 
and frcm thence, by a straight line drawn due north, until it meets 
with the south line of the Massachusetts Colony; aiulonthe north, or 
northerly, by the aforesaid south or southerly line of the Massachusetts 
Colony or Plantation, and extending towards the east, or eastwardly. 



appp:ndix. 209 

three English miles to the east ami north-east ol' the most castmi and 
north-eastern parts of the aforesaid Narragansett liay, as tlic said hay 
lyeth or extendeth itself from the ocean on tlie soutli', or southwardly 
unto the mouth of the river which runneth towards the town of Provi- 
dence, and from thence along the easterly sich; or hank of the said 
river (higher called hy the nanie of Seacunck river) uj) to the falls called 
Patuckett Falls, heing the most westwardly line of I'lymouth Colony, 
and so from the said falls, in a straight line, due north, until it meet 
with the aforesaid line of the Massachusetts Colony; and hounded on 
the south by the ocean; and, in particular, the lands belonging to the 
towns of Providence, Pawtuxet, Warwick, Misquammacok, alias 
Pawcatuck, and the rest upon the main land in the tract aforesaid, to- 
gether with Rhode Island, Block Island, and all the rest of the islands 
and banks in the Narragansett Bay, and bordering upon the coast of 
the tract aforesaid, (Fisher's Island only excepted,) together with all 
firm lands, soils, grounds, havens, ports, rivers, waters, fishings, mines 
royal, and all other mines, minerals, precious stones, quarries, woods, 
wood grounds, rocks, slates, and all and singular other ccmimodities, 
jurisdictions, royalties, privileges, franchises, i)reheminancies, and 
hereditaments, whatsoever within the said tract, bounds, lands and 
islands aforesaid, or to them or any of them belonging, or in anywise 
appertaining; to have and to hold the same, unto the said Governor 
and Company, and their successors, forever, upon trust, for the use 
and benefit of themselves and their associates freemen of the said 
Colony, their heirs and assigns, to be holden of us, our heirs and 
successors, as of the Manor of East Greemvich, in our county of Kent, 
in free and common soccage, and not in capite, nor by knight ser- 
vice; yielding and paying, therefore, to us, our heirs and successors, 
only the fifth part of' all the ore of gold and silver which, from time 
to time, and at all times hereafter, shall be there gotten, had or ob- 
tained, in lieu and satisfaction of all services, duties, fines, forfeitures, 
made or to be made, claims and demands whatsoever, to be to us, our 
heirs or successors, therefor or thereout rendered, made or paid; any 
grant, or clause in a late grant, to the Governor and Company of 
Connecticut Colony, in America, to the contrary thereof in anywise 
notwithstanding; the aforesaid Pawcatuck river having been yielded, 
after much debate, for the fixed and certain bounds between these our 
said Colonies, by the agents thereof; who have also agreed, that the 
said Pawcatuck river shall be also called alias Norrogansett or ^arro- 
gansett river; and, to prevent future disputes, that otherwise might 
arise thereby, forever hereafter shall be construed, deemed and taken 
to be the Narragansett river in ovir late grant to Connecticut Colony 
mentioned as the easterly bounds of that Colony. And further, ovir 
will and pleasure is, that in all matters of public controversy winch 
may fall out between our Colony of Providence Plantations, and the 
rest of our Colonies hi New England, it shall and may be lawlul to 
and for the Governor and Company of the said Colony of Providence 
Plantations to make their appeals therein to us, our heirs ami succes- 
sors, for redress in such cases, within this our realm ot England: and 
that it shall be lawful to and for the inhabitants of the said Colony ot 
Providence Plantations, without let or molestation, to pass and repass. 




peaceably f 



Colonies provided, or that shall be provided, to the contrai> "' ^^, > ^ ;^« 
notwithstanding. And lastly, we do, or xxs our heirs ^yj^l ^ .' f*^^^^';^^^;^,"; 
d«in nn.l aro.it unto the said Governor and Company and then ^"ecessors 



dain and grant unto the said Governor and Company ana i ..en ^"---- 
by these presents that these our letters patent shall be firn. .good,eftectuaI 



300 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLATTD. 

and available in all things in the law, to all intents, contents, construc- 
tions and purposes whatsoever, according to our true intent and meaning 
hereinbefore declared; and shall be construed, reputed and adjudged 
in all cases most favorably on the behalf, and for the best benefit and 
behoof of the said Governor and Company, and their successors ; al- 
though express mention of the true yearly value or certainty of the 
premises, or any of them, or of any other gifts or grants, by us, or by 
any of our progenitors or predecessors, heretofore made to the said 
Governor of the Company of the English Colony of Ehode Island and 
Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, New England, in 
America, in these presents is not made, or any statue, act, ordinance, 
provision, proclamation or restriction, heretofore had, made, enacted, 
ordained or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever, to 
the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. In witness, where- 
of, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness our- 
self , at Westminister, the eighth day of July, in the fifteenth year of 
oiir reign. 

By the King : 

HOWARD. 



CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 



Udtt of M)oht Mmh, 



AND 



^.xmAma WUntixtkm. 



ARTICLE 1.— Declaration of Rights. 

Section 1. Right of the people to make and alter their Consti- 
tution. 

Sec. 2 Object of government — How laws should be made and h\\i- 
dens distributed. 

Sec. 3. Religious freedom secured. 

Sec. 4. Slavery prohibited. 

Sec. 5. Laws should provide remedies — Justice shall be free, com- 
plete, prompt. 

Sec. 6. Rights of search and seizure regulated. 

Sec. 7. Provisions concerning criminal proceedings. 

Sec. 8. Bail, fines and j)unishments. 

Sec. 9. Bail and habeas corpus. 

Sec. 10. Rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. 

Sec. 11. Debtors entitled to relief. 

Sec. 12. No ex post facto law, &c., to be passed. 

Sec. 13. No man to criminate himself. 

Sec. 14. Presumption of innocence — Accused to be secured without 
severity. 

Sec. 15. Trial by jury. 

Sec. 16. Private i)roperty secured. 

Sec. 17. Rights of fishery. 

Sec. 18. Military subordinate — Martial law. 

Sec. 19. Of quartering soldiers. 

Sec. 20. Liberty of the press secured— Truth as a defence to libel. 

Sec. 21. Right of the people to assemble, and to petition. 

Sec. 22. Right to bear arms. 

Sec. 23. Rule of construction. 

ARTICLE II.- Electors. 

Sec. 1. Of electors owning real estate. 

Sec. 2. Of electors qualified to vote on adoption of Constitution- 
Registered voters— Qualified by dollar tax— Military duty— Who to 
vote for City Council in Providence, to impose a tax, &c. 



302 mSTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Sec. 3. Of assessment and payment of registry tax. 

Sec. 4. Who shall not gain residence or be permitted to vote. 

Sec. 5. Residents on lands ceded, &c., not electors. 

Sec. 6. Power of General Assembly over elections. 

ARTICLE 111.— Poioers Distributed. 
Three Departments. 

ARTICLE IV.— Legislative Poioers. 

Section 1. Constitution supreme law. 

Sec. 2. Two houses — General Assembly — Style of laws. 

Sec. 3. Sessions of General Assembly. 

Sec. 4. Members not to take fees, &c. 

Sec. 5. Members exempt from ari*est, &c. 

Sec. 6. Powers of each house — Organization. 

Sec. 7. Powers to make rules, &c. 

Sec. 8. Of the journal and yeas and nays. 

Sec. 9. Of adjournments. 

Sec. 10. Of powers not prohibited. 

Sec. 11. Pay of members. 

Sec. 12. Lotteries prohibited. 

Sec. 13. Debts not to be incurred. 

Sec. 14. Private or local appropriations. 

Sec. 15. Of valuations of property and assessments. 

Sec. 16. Officers may be continued until successors are qualified. 

Sec. 17. Bills to create corjiorations to be continued, except, &c. 

Sec. 18. Of election of senators to Congress. 

ARTICLE V. — House of Representatives. 

Section 1. House, how constituted — Ratio of representation. 
Sec. 2. May elect its officers, &c. 

ARTICLE VI.— Senate. 

Section 1. How constituted. 

Sec. 2. Governor to preside — when to vote in grand committee. 
Sec. 3. May elect presiding officer in case of vacancy, &c. 
Sec. 4. Secretary and other officers. 

ARTICLE Vll.— Executive. 

Section 1. Of the governor and lieutenant-governor — How elected. 

Sec. 2. Duty of governor. 

Sec. 3. He shall command military and naval forces, except, &c. 

Sec. 4. He may grant reprieves, &c. 

Sec. 5. He may fill vacancies. 

Sec. 6. He may adjourn assembly, in case, &c. 

Sec. 7. He may convene assembly, when, &c. 

Sec. 8. Commissions, how signed, &c. 

Sec. 9. Lieutenant-governor, when to act as governor. 

Sec. 10. Vacancies, how filled. 

Sec. 11. Comx)ensation of governor, &c. 

Sec. 12. Duties of general officers. 



APPENDIX. 'M):i 



ARTICLE Vlll.— Elections. 

Section. 1. Governor and general officers, when elected. 

Sec. 2. General officers and members of assembly, how voted for. 

Sec. 3. Same subject— How votes to be sealed up, transmitted and 
counted. 

Sec. 4. List of voters to be kept. [Obsolete.] 

Sec. 5. Ballots for members of Assembly, how counted — Adjourn- 
ment of elections, when. 

Sec. 6. — Of voting in the City of Providence. 

Sec. 7. — If governor or lieutenant-governor not elected by the peoi)le 
grand committee to elect, how. 

Sec. 8. • In case general officers not elected by the people, how va- 
cancies shall be tilled. 

Sec. 9. Vacancies in Assembly, how filled. 

Sec. 10. Majority required to elect. 

ARTICLE IX.— Qualifications for Office. 

Section 1. Qualified electoi*s only eligible. 
Sec. 2, Conviction of bribery a disqu.alification. 
Sec. 3. Oath of general officers. 
Sec. 4. Officers, how engaged. 

Sec. 5. How oath to be administered to governor, &c. 
Sec. 6. Holding office under United States, or other governments, 
a disqualification for certain offices, — except, &c. 

ARTICLE X.— Judiciary. 

Section 1. One supreme court — Inferior courts how established. 

Sec. 2. Jurisdiction of courts— Chancery powers. 

Sec. 3. Judges of supreme court to instruct jury— To give opin- 
ions, &c. 

Sec. 4. Of election and tenure of office of judges of supreme court. 

Sec. 5. — Vacancies, how filled. 

Sec. 6. Compensation of judges. 

Sec. 7. Justices of the peace and wardens, how elected— Their 
jurisdiction. \ 

* ARTICLE Xl.— Impeachments. 

Section 1. Impeachments, how ordered. 

Sec. 2. Impeachments, how tried. 

Sec. 3. What officers liable to impeachment— Effect of conviction. 

ARTICLE Xll.— Education. 

Section 1. Duty of General Assembly to promote schools, &c. 

Sec. 2. The permanent school fund. 

Sec. 3. Donations for support of schools. 

Sec. 4. Powers of General Assembly under this article. 

ARTICLE Xlll.— Amendments. 

Section 1. Amendments, how proposed.— how voted upon.— how 
adopted. 



304 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND, 



ARTICLE X.1Y. —Adojotion of the Constitution. 

Section 1. Constitution, when to go into operation — Its effect on- 
existing laws, charters, «fec. 

Sec. 2. Former debts, &c., adopted. 

Sec. 3. Jurisdiction of supreme court. 

Sec. 4, Exemptions of New Shoreham and Jamestown from mili- 
tary duty, continued. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE I. 

Lists of voters for general officers no longer required to be kept, &c- 

ARTICLE II. 
The pardoning power, how exercised. 

ARTICLE III. 

Sessions of the General Assembly. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Electors absent from the state in the military service of the United 
States, allowed to vote. 



We, the -people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- 
tations, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty 
which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for 
a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and to transmit the same, un- 
impaired, to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution of Government. 

ARTICLE I. 

DECLARATION OF CERTAIN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES. 

In order effectually to seciire the religious and political freedom 
established by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for 
our posterity, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable 
rights and principles hereinafter mentioned, shall be established, 
maintained and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in 
all legislative, judicial and executive proceedings. 

Section 1. In the words of the Father of his Country, we declare, 
that, " the basis of our political systems is the right of the people to 
make and alter their constitutions of govermnent ; but that the con- 
stitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and 
authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all." 

Sec. 2. All free governments are instituted for the protection, 
safety and happiness of the people. All laws, therefore, should be 
made for the good of the whole ; and the burdens of the state ought 
to be fairly distributed among its citizens. 



APPENDIX. ;3()5 

Sec. 3. Whereas, Almighty God liatli rreatcdtlie iiiiTul free- ■.uu\ 
all attempts to mtluence it hy temporal punislimeiits, or l.urtlM-ns (.r 
by civil incapacitations, teml to beo-et habits of hvpccrisy and mean- 
ness; and whereas, a principal object of our venerable ancestors in 
their migration to this country and th.eir settlement of this state, was 
as they expressed it, to hold forth a livelv experiment, that a lloiirisli- 
ing civil state may stand and be best maintained with full lihertv in 
religious concernments; we tlierefore declare that no man shal'l be 
compelled to frequent or to support any religious worship, place or 
ministry whatever, except in I'uliillmeiit of his own voluntary con- 
tract; nor enforced, restrahied, molested or burthened in his liody or 
goods; nor disqualified from holding any office; nor otherwise su'ffer 
on account of his religious belief; and tliat every man shall be free to 
worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to 
profess and by argument to maintain his o])inion in matters of religion; 
and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or afTect his 
civil capacity. 

Sec. 4. Slavery shall not be jiermitted in this state. 

Sec. 5. Every person within this state ought to find a certain rem- 
edy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which 
he may receive in his person, property or character. He ought to 
obtain right and justice freely, and without purchase, completely, and 
without denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the 
laws. 

Sec. 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, i)a])ers 
and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, sliall not 
be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but on comi>laint in writing, 
upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing 
as nearly as may be the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
to be seized. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other 
infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, 
except in cases of impeachment, or of such offences as are cognizable 
by a justice of the peace; or in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia Avhen in actual service in time of war or ])ub- 
lic danger. No person shall, after an acquittal, be tried for the same 
offence. 

Sec. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted; and all punishments ought 
to he proportioned to the offence. 

Sec. i). All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient 
surety, unless for offences punishable by death or by imprisonment for 
life, when the proof of guilt is evident, or the presunii)tion great. The 
privilege of the writ of 7io6fa.s corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public service shall require 
it, nor ever without the authority of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted witli the 
witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining them 
in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and shall 
be at liberty to speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived ot life, 
liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of 
the land. 

Sec. 11. The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presump- 
tion of fraud, ought not to be c(mtinued in prison, after he ?>liall have 
delivered up his property for the benefit of his creditors, in such man- 
ner as shall be prescribed by law. VT +• * 

Sec. 12. l^o ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation ot 
contracts, shall be passed. 
20 



306 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Sec. 13. No man in a court of common law shall be compelled to 
give evidence criminating himself. 

Sec. 14. Every man being presumed innocent, until he is pro- 
nounced guilty by the law, no act of severity which is not necessary to 
secure an accused person shall be permitted. 

Sec. 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 

Sec. 1(3. Private jiroperty shall not be taken for public uses, with- 
out just compensation. 

Sec. 17. The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise, all 
the rights of fishery, and the i:)rivileges of the shore, to which they 
have been heretofore entitled, under the charter and usages of this 
state. But no new right is intended to be granted, nor any existing 
right impaired by this declaration. 

Sec. 18. The military shall be held in strict subordination to the 
civil authority, and the law martial shall be used and exercised in such 
cases only as occasion shall necessarily require. 

Sec. 19. No soldier shall be quartered in any house, in time of 
peace, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 20. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of 
freedom in a state, any person may xiublish his sentiments on any 
subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all 
trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, unless published 
from malicious motives, shall be sufficient defence to the jierson 
charged. 

Sec. 21. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assem- 
ble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the 
powers of government, for redress of grievances, or for other purposes, 
by petition, address, or remonstrance. 

Sec. 22. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

Sec. 23. The enumeration of the aforegoing rights shall not be 
construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE II. 

OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS. 

Section 1. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of 
twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this state 
for one year, and in the town or city in which he may claim a right to 
vote, .six months next preceding the time of voting, and who is really 
and truly possessed in his own right of real estate in such town or 
city, of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, over and 
above all incumbrances, or which sliall rent for seven dollars per 
anniim, over and above any rent reserved, or the interest of any in- 
cumbrances thereon, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, for the 
life of any person, or an estate in reversion or remainder, which 
qualities no other person to vote, the conveyance of which estate, if 
by deed, shall have been recorded at least ninety days, shall thereafter 
have a right to vote in the election of all civil otiicers, and on all 
questions in all legnl town or ward meetings, so long as he continues 
so qualified. And if any person hereinbefore described shall own any 
such estate within this state out of the town or city in which he resides, 
he shall have a right to vote in the election of all general officers and 
members of the General Assembly, in the toAvn or city in which he 
shall have had his residence and home for the term of six months 
next preceding the election, upon producing a certificate from the 
clerk of the town or city in which his estate lies, bearing date within 



APPENDIX. 1307 

ten days of the time of his votini>-, setting? forth tliat sncli person lias 
a sufficient estate therein to qualify him as a voter; and that tiiedecd 
if any, has heen recorded ninety days. ' 

Sec. 2. Every male native citizen of the United States, of tlic age 
of twenty-one years, who has had his residence and home in this sta'te 
two years, and in the town or city in which lie may offer to vote, six 
months next precedino- the time of votinj;-, whose'name is rej^istered 
pursuant to the act calling the convention to frame this Constitution, 
or shall be registered in the office of the clerk of such town or city at 
least seven days before the time he shall offer to vote and hcforethe 
last day of December in the present year; and who has paid or shall 
pay a tax or taxes, assessed upon his estate witliin this state, and 
within a year of the time of voting, to the amount of one dollar, or 
wdio shall voluntarily pay. at least seven days before the time he shall 
offer to vote, and before said last day of December, to the clerk or 
treasurer of the town or city Avhere he resides, the sum of one dollar, 
or such sum as, with his other taxes, shall amount to one dollar, for 
the support of public schools therein, and shall make i)roof of the 
same, by the certificate of the clerk, treasurer or collector of any 
town or city where such payment is made; or who, being so registered 
has been enrolled in any military company in this state, and done 
military service or duty therein, within the present year, pursuant to 
law, and shall, (until other proof is required by law,) prove by the certifi- 
cate of the officer legally commanding the regiment, or chartered or 
legally authorized volunteer company, in which he may have served or 
done duty, that he has been equipped and done duty according to law, or 
by the certificate of the commissioners upon military claims that he 
has performed military service shall have a right to vote in the elec- 
tion of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized 
town or ward meetings, until the end of the first year after the adop- 
tion of this Constitution, or until the end of the year eighteen hun- 
dred and forty-three. 

From and after that time, every such citizen, who has had the resi- 
dence herein required, and whose name shall be registered in the town 
where he resides, on or before the last day of December, in the year 
next preceding the time of his voting, and who shall show by legal 
proof, that he has for and within the year next preceding the time lie 
shall offer to vote, paid a tax or taxes assessed against him in any town 
or city in this state, to the amount of one dollar; or that he has been 
enrolled in a military company in this state, been eipiipped and done 
duty tlierein, according to law, and at least for one day during such 
year, shall have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and 
on all questions in ail legally organized town or ward meetings: Pro- 
vided, that no person shall at any time be allowed to vote in the elec- 
tion of the City Council of the City of Providence, or upon any propo- 
sition to impose a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town or 
city, unless he shall, within the year next jtreceding have paid a tax 
assessed upon his property therein, valued at least at one hundred and 
thirty-four dollars. 

Sec. 3. The assessors of each town or city shall annually assess 
upon every person whose name shall be registered, a tax of one dollar, 
or such sum as with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar, which 
registry tax shall be paid into the treasury of such town or city, and 
be applied to the support of public schools therein: but no compulsory 
process shall issue for the collecticm of any registry tax: Provided that 
the registry tax of every person who has performed military duty 
according to the provisions of the preceding section, shall be remitted 
for the vear he shall perform such duty: and the registry tax a.^sessed 
upon any mariner, for any year while he is at sea, shall, upon his appli- 
cation, be remitted; and no person shall be allowed to vote whose 



308 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

registry tax for either of the two years next preceding the time 6i 
voting'is not paid or remitted as herein provided. 

Sec. 4. No person in the military, naval, marine, or any other ser- 
vice of the United States, shall be considered as having the required 
residence by reason of being employed in any garrison, barrack, or 
military or naval station in this state: and no paixper, lunatic, person 
non compoH mentis, person under guardianship, or member of the Nar- 
ragansett tribe of Indians, shall be permitted to be registered or to 
vote. Nor shall any person convicted of bribery, or of any crime 
deemed infamous at common law, be permitted to exercise that privi- 
lege, until he be expressly restored thereto by act of the General As- 
sembly. 

Sec, 5.' Persons residing on lands ceded by this state to the United 
States shall not be entitled to exercise the privilege of electors. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall have full power to provide 
for a registry of voters, to prescribe the manner of conducting the elec- 
tions, the form of certificates, the natvire of the evidence to be required 
in case of a dispute as to the right of any person to vote, and generally 
to enact all laws necessary to carry this article into effect, and to pre- 
vent abuse, corruption and fraud in voting. 

ARTICLE III. 

OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

The powers of the government shall be distributed into three depart- 
ments: the legislative, executive and judicial. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER. 

Section 1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the state, 
and any law inconsistent therewith, shall be void. The General As- 
sembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry this constitution into 
effect. 

Sec. 2. The legislative power, under this constitution, shall be 
vested in two houses, the one to be called the senate, the other the 
house of representatives; and both together, the General Assembly. 
The concurrence of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment 
of laws. The style of their laws shall be, It is enacted by tJte General 
Assembly asfoUoics. 

Sec. 3. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly holden 
annually; one at Newport, on the first Tuesday of May, for the pur- 
poses of election and other business; the other on the last Monday of 
October, Avhich last session shall be holden at South Kingstown once 
in two years, and the intermediate years alternately at Bristol and 
East Greenwich ; and an adjournment from the October session shall 
be holden annually at Providence. 

Sec. 4. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fee, or 
be of counsel in any case pending before either house of the General 
Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon proof thereof to 
the satisfaction of the house of which he is a member. 

Sec. 5. The person of every member of the General Assembly shall 
be exemiDt from arrest, and his estate frcm attachment, in any civil 
action, during the session of the General Assembly, and two days 
before the commencement, and tAvo days after the termination thereof, 
and all process served contrary hereto, shall be void. For any 



APPENDIX. 309 

speech in debate in either house, no member shall be (luestioned in 
any other place. 

Sec. 0. Each house shall be the jud^e of the elections and ciualifi- 
cations of Its members; and a majority shall constitute a (lucnun to 
do business; but a smaller niimber may adjourn from day to day and 
may compel the attendance of absent inenibcrs, in such 'nunuu'r and 
under such penalties as may be prescribed by such house, or by law 
The organization of the two houses may be rei,^ulated by law, subject 
to the limitations contained in this constitution. 

Sec. 7. Each house may determine its rules of proceeding, punish 
contempts, punish its mend>ers for disorderly behayior, and,'"witli the 
concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member; but not a second time for 
the same cause. 

Sec. 8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings. The 
yeas and nays of the members of either hoiise shall, at the desire of 
one-tifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 9. Neither house shall, during a session, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place 
than that in which they may be sitting. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall continue to exercise the 
powers they haye heretofore exercised, unless prohibited in this con- 
stitution. 

Sec. 11. The senators and representatives shall receive the sum of 
one dollar for every day of attendance, and eight cents per mile for 
traveling expenses in going to and returning from the General 
Assembly. The General Assembly shall regulate the compensation of 
the governor, and all other officers subject to the limitations contained 
in this constitution. 

Sec. 12. All lotteries shall hereafter be prohibited in this state, 
except those already authorized by the General Assembly. 

Sec 13. The General Assembly shall have no power, hereafter, 
without the express consent of the people, to incur state debts to an 
amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, except in time of Ayar, or in 
case of insurrection or invasion; nor shall they in any case, without 
such consent, pledge the faith of the state for the payment of the 
obligations of others. This section shall not be construed to refer to 
any money that may be de])osited witli this state by the government 
of the United States. 

Sec. 14. The assent of tw^o-thirds of the members elected to each 
house of the General Assembly shall be required to every bill appro- 
priating the public money or property for local or private purposes. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, provide 
for making new valuations of property, for the assessment of taxes, 
in such manner as they may deem best. A new estimate of such prop- 
erty shall be taken before the tirst direct state tax, after the adoption 
of this constitution, shall be assessed. 

Sec. 16. The General Assembly may provide by law for the continu- 
ance in otifice of any officers of annual election or appointment, until 
other persons are qualified to take their places. 

Sec. 17. Hereafter, when any bill shall be presented to either house 
of the General Assembly, to create a corporation for any other than 
for religious, literary or 'charitable purposes, or for a military or tire 
company, it shall be continued until another election of members of 
the General Assembly shall have taken place, and such jiubhc notice 
of the pendency thereof shall be given as may be required by law. 

Sec 18. It shall be the duty of the two houses, upon the request of 
either, to join in grand committee for the purpose of electing senatora 
in Congress, at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed 
by law for said elections. 



310 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

ARTICLE V. 

OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Section 1. The house of representatives shall never exceed seventy- 
two members, and shall be constituted on the basis of population, al- 
ways allowing one representative for a fraction exceeding half the ratio; 
bvit each toAvn or city shall always be entitled to at least one member; 
and no town or city shall have inore than one-sixth of the whole num- 
ber of members to which the house is hereby limited. The present 
ratio shall be one representative to every fifteen hundred and thirty 
inhabitants, and the General Assembly may, after any new census taken 
by the authority of the United States, or of this state, reapportion 
the representation by altering the ratio ; but no town or city shall be 
divided into districts for the choice of representatives. 

Sec. 2. The house of representatives shall have authority to elect its 
speaker, clerks and other officers. The senior member from the town 
of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in the organization of the 
house. 

ARTICLE VI. 

OF THE SENATE. 

Section 1. The senate shall consist of the lieutenant-governor and 
of one senator from each town or city in the state. 

Sec. 2. The governor, and, in his absence the lieutenant-governor, 
shall preside in the senate and in grand committee. The presiding 
officer of the senate and grand committee shall have a right to vote in 
case of equal division, but not otherwise. 

Sec. 3. If, by reason of death, resignation, absence or other cause, 
there be no governor or lieutenant-governor present, to preside in the 
senate, the senate shall elect one of "their own members to preside dur- 
ing such absence or vacancy ; and until such election is made by the 
senate the secretary of state shall preside. 

Sec. 4. The secretary of state shall, by virtue of his office, be sec- 
retary of the senate, unless otherwise provided by law; and the senate 
may elect such other officers as they may deem necessary. 

ARTICLE VII. 

OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER. 

Section 1. The chief executive power of this state shall be vested 
in a governor, who, together with a lieutenant-governor, shall be annu- 
ally elected by the people. 

Sec. 2. Tlie governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed. 

Sec. 3. He shall be captain-general and connnander-in-chief of the 
military and naval forces of this state, except when they shall be called 
into the service of the United States. 

Sec. 4. He shall have power to grant reprieves after conviction, in 
all cases except those of impeachment, until the the end of the next 
session of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 5. He may fill vacancies in office not otherwise provided for 
by this constitution, or by law, until the same shall be filled by the 
General Assembly or by the people. 

Sec. (3. In case of disagreement between the two houses of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, respecting the time or place of adjournment certified 
to him by either, he may adjourn them to such time and place as he 



APPENDIX. 311 

shall think proper: provided that the time of adjouniment slrill not 
be extended beyond the day of the next stated session. 

Sec. 7. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the (Icneral 
Assembly at any town or city in this state, at anytime not provided 
for by law; and m case of danger from the prevah-nce of epi(h-mic or 
contagious disease, in the i)lace in which tlie (leneral Assemhlv are by 
law to meet, or to wliich they may have been adjourned, or for other 
urgent reasons, he may, by proclamation, conveiie said Assembly at 
any other place within this state. 

Sec. 8. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; sliall be 
sealed Avitli the state seal, signed by the governor, and attested ]»y the 
secretary. 

Sec. 9, In case of vacancy in the office of governor, or of his in- 
ability to serve, impeachment, or absence from the state, the lieutenant- 
governor shall till the office of governor, and exercise the powers and 
authority appertaining thereto, until a governor is (lualihed to act, or 
until the office is tilled at the next annual election. 

Sec. 10. If the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor be both 
vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, absence, or 
otherwise, the person entitled to preside over the senate for tlie time 
being shall in like manner till the office of governor during the absence 
or vacancy. 

Sec. 11. The compensation of the governor and lieutenant-governor 
shall be established by law and shall not be diminished during the 
term for which they are elected. 

Sec. 12. The duties and poAvers of the secretary, attorney-general, 
and general treasurer, shall be the same under this constitution as are 
now Established, or as from time to time may be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

OF ELECTIONS. 

Section 1. The governor, lieutenant-governor, senators, represen- 
tatives, secretary of state, attorney-general, and general treasurer, 
shall be elected at the town, city, or ward meetings, to beholden on the 
first Wednesday of April, annually; and shall severally hokl their 
offices for one year, from the tirst Tuesday of ^lay next succeeding, 
and until others are legally chosen, and duly qualified to till their 
places. If elected or qu.alified after the said tirst Tuesday of May, 
they shall hold their offices for the remainder of the political year, and 
until their successors are qualified to act. 

Sec. 2. The voting for governor, lieutenant-governor, seci-etary of 
state, attorney-general, general treasurer, and rei)resentatives to Con- 
gress shall be by ballot; senators and representatives to tlie (General 
Assembly, and town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on demand 
of any seven persons entitled to vote for the same; and in all cases 
where an.election is made by ballot or paper vote, tlie manner of bal- 
loting shall be the same as is now required in voting for general officers, 
until otherwise prescribed by law. 

Sec. 3. The names of the persons voted for as governor, lieutenant- 
governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, and general treasurer, 
shall be placed upon one ticket; and all votes for these officers siiall, 
in open town or ward meetings, be sealed up by the moderators and 
town clerks and by the wardens and ward clerks, who sliall certify tlie 
same, and deliver V send them to the secretary of state; whose duty 
it shall be securely to keep and deliver the same to the grand com- 
mittee, after the organization of the two houses at the annual May 



312 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

session; audit shall be the duty of the two houses at said session, 
after their organization, upon the request of either house, to join in 
grand committee, for the purpose of coiinting and declaring said votes, 
and of electing other officers. 

Sec. 4. The town and ward clerks shall also keep a correct list or 
register of all persons voting for general officers, and shall transmit a 
copy thereof to the General Assembly, on or before the first day of 
said May session. 

Sec. 5. The ballots for senators and representatives in the several 
towns shall, in each case, after the polls are declared to be closed, be 
counted by the moderator, who shall announce the result, and the 
clerk shalf give certificates to the persons elected. If, in any case, 
there be no election, the polls may be reopened, and the like proceed- 
ings shall be had until an election shall take place: Provided, how- 
ever, that an adjournment or adjournments of the election may be 
made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. 
. Sec. 6. In the city of Providence, the polls for senator and repre- 
sentatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the 
day, and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close 
of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks in open ward meeting, 
and afterwards delivered to the city clerk. The mayor and aldermen 
shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of 
election; and if no election of senator and representatives or if an 
election of only a portion of the representatives shall have taken 
place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election, to be held 
not more than ten days from the day of the first election, and so on 
until the election shall be completed. Certificates of election shall be 
furnished by the city clerk to the persons chosen. 

Sec. 7. If no person shall have a majority of votes for governor, 
it shall be the duty of the grand committee to elect one by ballot from 
the two persons having the highest number of votes for the office, 
except Avhen such a result is produced by rejecting the entire vote of 
any town, city or ward for informality or illegality, in which case a 
new election by the electors throughout the state shall be ordered; 
and in case no person shall have a majority of votes for lieutenant- 
governor, it shall be the duty of the grand committee to elect one by 
ballot from the two persons having the highest number of votes for 
the office. 

Sec. 8. In case an election of the secretary of state, attorney-gen- 
eral, or general treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors at the 
annual election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the General 
Assembly in grand committee from the two candidates for such office 
having the greatest number of the votes of the electors. Or, in case 
of a vacancy in either of said offices, from other causes, between the 
sessions of the General Assembly, the governor shall appoint some 
person to fill the same, until a successor elected by the GenerBll 
Assembly is qualified to act; and in such case, and also in all other 
cases of vacancies, not otherwise provided for, the General Assembly- 
may fill the same in any manner they may deem proper. 

Sec. 9. Vacancies from any cause in the senate and house of 
representatives, may be filled by a new election. 

Sec. 10. In all elections held by the people under this constitution, 
a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the election 
of the persons voted for. 



APPENDIX. 313 

ARTICLE IX. 

OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE. 

Section 1. No i)erson shall be eligible to any civil office (except the 
•office of school committee), unless he be a qualilied elector for such 
office. 

Sec. 2. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office 
to which he may have been elected, if he be convicted of having 
offered, or procured any other person to offer, any bribe to secure his 
election, or the election of any other person. 

Sec. 3. All general officers shall take the following engagement be- 
fore they act in their respective offices, to wit: You . . . being by 
the free\'ote of the electors of this State of Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations, elected unto the place of * . . . . do solemnly 
swear, (or affirm,) to be true and faithful unto this state, and to sup- 
port the constitution of this state and of the United States; that you 
will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties of your afore- 
said office to the best of your abilities,"according to law: So lielp you 
God. Or, this affirmation you make and give upon the peril of the 
penalty of perjury. 

Sec. 4. The members of the General Assembly, the judges of all 
the courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound 
by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, and the constitution 
of the United States. 

Sec. 5. The oath or affirmation shall be administered to the gov- 
ernor, lieutenant-governor, senators and representatives, by the secre- 
tary of state, or, in his absence, by the attorney-general. Tlie secretary 
of state, attorney-general and general treasurer shall be engaged by 
the governor, or by a justice of the supreme court. 

Sec. G. No person holding any office under the government of the 
United States, or of any other state or country, shall act as a general 
officer, or as a member of the General Assembly, unless at the time of 
taking his engagement he shall have resigned his office under such 
government; and if any general officer, senator, representative, or 
judge, shall after his election and engagement, accept any appoint- 
ment under any other government his office under this shall be im- 
mediately vacated; but this restriction shall not apply to any person 
appointetl to take depositions or acknowledgment of deeds, or other 
legal instruments, by the authority of any other state or country. 

ARTICLE X. 

OF THE JUDICIAL POWER. 

Section 1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one 
-supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the General Assembly 
may, from time to time, ordain and establish. 

Sec. 2. The several courts shall have such jurisdiction as may, from 
time to time, be prescribed by law. Chancery powers may be conferred 
on the supreme court, but on no other court to any greater extent than 
is now provided by law. , • ^ 

Sec. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall, in all trials, instruct 
the jury in the law". They shall also give their written opinion upon 
any question of law whenever requested by the governor, or by either 
house of the General Assembly. , i ^i * 

Sec. 4. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the two 
houses in grand committee. Each judge shall hold his office until his 



314 HISTOKY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

place be declared vacant by a resolution of the General Assembly to- 
that effect; which resolution shall be voted for by a majority of all the 
members elected to the house in which it may originate, and be con- 
curred in by the same majority of the other house. Such resolutions 
shall not be entertained at any other than the annual session for the 
election of public officers; and in default of the passage thereof at said 
session, the judge shall hold his place as is herein provided. But a 
judge of any court shall be removed from office, if, upon impeachment, 
he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor. 

Sec. 5. In case of vacancy by death, resignation, removal from the 
state or from office, refusal or inability to serve, of any judge of the 
supreme court, the office may be filled by the grand committee, until 
the next annual election, and the judge then elected shall hold his 
office as before provided. In cases of impeachment or temporary 
absence or inability, the governor may appoint a person to discharge 
the duties of the office dm-ing the vacancy caused thereby. 

Sec. G. The judges of the supreme court shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, which shall not be diminished during their con- 
tinuance in office. 

Sec. 7. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown may con- 
tinue to elect their wardens as heretofore. The other towns and the 
city of Providence may elect such number of justices of the peace, 
resident therein, as they may deem proper. The jurisdiction of said 
justices and wardens shall be regulated by law. The justices shall be 
commissioned by the governor. 

ARTICLE XL 

OF IMPEACHMENTS. 

Section 1. The house of reiiresentatives shall have the sole power 
of impeachment. A vote of two-thirds of all the members elected 
shall be required for an impeachment of the governor. Any officer 
impeached shall thereby be suspended from office until judgment in 
the case shall have been pronoimced. 

Sec. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and, when 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be under oath or affirmation. No 
person shall be convicted, except by vote of two-thirds of the members 
elected. When the governor is impeached, the chief or presiding 
justice of the supreme court, for the time being, shall preside, with a 
casting vote in all preliminary questions. 

Sec" 3. The governor and' all other executive and judicial officers 
shall be liable to impeachment ; but judgment in svxcli cases shall not 
extend further than to removal from office. The person convicted 
shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment 
according to law. 

ARTICLE XII. 

OF EDUCATION. 

Section 1. The diffusion of knowledge, as well as of virtue among 
the people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and 
liberties, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to promote pub- 
lic schools, and to adopt all means which they may deem necessary 
and proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of 
education. 

Sec. 2. The money which now is, or which may hereafter be ap- 
propriated by law for the establishment of a permanent fund for the 



APPENDIX. 315 

support of public schools shall be securely invested, and remain a per- 
petual fund for that purpose. 

Sec. 3. All donations for the support of public scliools, or for other 
purposes of education, which may be received by th(^ (Jeneral 
Assembly, shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by tlie 
donors. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall make all necessary provisions 
by law for carrying this article into effect. They shall not divert said 
money or fund from the aforesaid uses, nor borrow, appropriate, or use 
the same, or any part thereof, for any other purpose, under any pre- 
tence whatsoever. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

ON AMENDMENTS. 

The General Assembly may jiropose amendments to this constitu- 
tion by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each 
house. Such propositions for amendment shall be jmblished in the 
newspapers and printed copies of them shall be sent by the secretary 
of state, wdth the names of all the members who shall have voted 
thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks in the 
state. The said loropositions shall be, by said clerks, inserted in the 
warrants or notices by them issued, for warning the next annual town 
and ward meetings in April: and the clerks shall read said proposi- 
tions to the electors when thus assembled, with the names of all the 
representatives and senators who shall have voted thereon, with the 
yeas and nays, before the election of senators and representatives shall 
be had. If a majority of all the members elected to each house, at 
said annual meeting, shall approve any proposition thus made, the 
same shall be published and submitted to the electors in the mode 
provided in the act of approval; and if then approved by three-tifths 
of the electors of the state present, and voting thereon in town and 
ward meetings, it shall become a part of the constitution of the state. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

ON THE ADOPTION OF THIS CONSTITUTION. 

Section 1. This constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation 
on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and forty-three. The first election of governor, lieutenant-governor, 
secretary of state, attorney-general and general treasurer, and of sen- 
ators and representatives under said constitution, shall be had on the 
first Wednesday of April next preceding, by the electors quahhed 
under said constitution. And the town and ward meetings tl>erelor 
shall be warned and conducted as is now provided by law. All civil 
and military officers now elected, or who shall hereafter be elected, 
by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the 
said first Wednesdav of April, shall hold their offices and inay exercise 
their powers until the said first Tuesday of May, or until their succes- 
sors shall be qualified to act. All statutes, public and private, not 
repugnant to this constitution, shall continue m force until tliey ex- 
pire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assemhiy. 
All charters, contracts, judgments, actions, and rights ol action shall 
be as valid as if this constitution had not been made 1 lie present 
government shall exercise all the powers Avith which it is nowclotiiea 
Sntil the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight li;3"^4'f ^^^ ^ 
forty-three, and until the government under this constitution is auiy 
organized. 



316 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Sec. 2. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before 
the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the state as 
if this constitution had not been adopted. 

Sec. 3. The supreme court, established by this constitution, shall 
have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present 
established, and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be 
appealed to, or pending in the same; and shall be held at the same 
times and places, and in each county, as the present supreme judicial 
court, until otherwise prescribed by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 4. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown shall con- 
tinue to enjoy the exemptions from military duty which they now 
enjoy, until otherwise prescribed by law. 

Done in convention, at East Greenwich, this fifth day of November, 
A. D. one thousand eight hundred and forty-two. 

JAMES FENNER, President. 
HENRY Y. CRANSTON, Vice-Pres't. 



Thomas A. Jenckes, ) r.^^, . ,,.. „ 
Walter W. Updike, J 'Secretaries. 



Articles of Amendment. 

Adopted November, inrA. 



ARTICLE I. 



It shall not be necessary for the town or ward clerks to keep and 
transmit to the General Assembly a list or register of all persons vot- 
ing for general officers; but the General Assembly shall have power 
to pass such laws on the subject as they may deem"^expedient. 

ARTICLE II. 

The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, 
shall hereafter exclusively exercise the pardoning power, except in 
cases of impeachment, to the same extent as such power is now exer- 
cised by the General Assembly. 

ARTICLE III. 

There shall be one session of the General Assembly holden annually, 
commencing on the last Tuesday in May, art Newport, and an adjourn- 
ment from the same shall be holden annuallv at Providence. 



Adopted August, 18(>4. 
ARTICLE IV. 

Electors of this state who in time of war are absent from the state, 
in the actual military service of the United States, being otherwise 
qualified, shall have a right to vote in all elections in the state for 
electors of president and vice-president of the United States, repre- 
sentatives in Congress, and general officers of the state. The (Jeneral 
Assembly shall have full power to provide by law for carrying this 
article into effect ; and until such provision shall be made by law, 
every such absent elector on the day of such elections, may deliver a 
written or printed ballot, with the"^ names of the persons voted for 
thereon, and his Christian and surname, and his voting residence in 
the state, written at length on the back thereof, to the officer com 
mandins: the regiment or company to which he belongs; and all such 
ballots, certified by such commanding officer to have been gi\ en by the 
elector whose name is written thereon, and returned by such com- 
manding officer to the secretary of state within the time prescribed by 
law for' counthig the votes in" such elections, shall be received and 
counted with the same effect as if given by such elector in open towii. 
ward, or district meeting: and the clerk of each t<»wn or city, until 
otherwise provided bv law, shall, within five days after any sucli 
election, transmit to the secretary of state a certiticd list oi the names 
of all such electors on their respective voting lists. 



[Co2nj of the Dorr Constitution.'] 



CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 



^tate of Iljotie 3$lant), 



AND 



As FINALLY ADOPTED BY THE CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE ASSEM- 
BLED AT Providence, on the 18th day of November, 1841. 



WE, the PEOPLE of the State of Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations, grateful to Ahnightj^ God for His hlessing vouch- 
safed to the " lively experiment " of Religious and Political Freedom 
here " held forth " hy our venerated ancestors, and earnestly imiilor- 
ing the favor of His gracious Providence toward this our attempt to 
secure, upon a permanent foundation, the advantages of well ordered 
and rational Liberty, and to enlarge and transmit to our successors 
the inheritance that we have receiVed, do ordain and establish the 
following CONSTITUTION of Government for this State: 

ARTICLE I. 

declarations of principles and rights. 

1. In the spirit of and in the words of Roger Williams, the illus- 
trious founder of this state, and of his venerated associates, We 
DECLARE " that this government shall be a DExMocracy," or govern- 
ment of the PEOPLE." " by the major consent" of the same, "only 
in civil, things." The will of the i)eople shall be expressed by rei)re- 
sentatives freely chosen, and returning at fixed periods to tlieir con- 
stituents. This state shall be and forever remain, as in tlie design of 
its founder, sacred to " Soul Liberty," to the rights of conscience, 
to freedom of thought, of expression^and of action, as hereinafter set 
forth and secured. , i xi • 

2. All men are created free and equal and are endowed by tbeir 
Creator with certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among 



318 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

which are life, liberty, the acquisition of property and the pursuit of 
happiness. Government cannot create or bestow these rights which 
are the gift of God, but it is instituted for the stronger and surer de- 
fence oi'^the same; that men may safely enjoy the rights of life and 
liberty, securely possess and transmit property, and so far as laws avail 
may be successful in the pursuit of happiness. 

3. All political power and sovereignty are originally vested in and 
of right belong to the People. All free governments are founded in 
their authority and are established for the greatest good of the whole 
number. The People have therefore an inalienable and indefeasible 
right in their original, sovereign and unlimited capacity to ordain and 
institute government, and in the same capacity to alter, reform, or 
totally change the same, whenever their safety or happiness requires. 

4. No favor or disfavor ought to be shown in legislation toward 
any man, or party, or society, or religious denomination. The laws 
should be made not for the good of the few, but of the many, and the 
burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens. 

5. The diffusion of useful knowledge and the cultivation of a 
sound morality in the fear of God being of the first importance in a 
republican state, and indispensable to the maintenance of its liberty, 
it shall be an imperative duty of the legislature to promote the estab- 
lishment of free schools and to assist in the support of public 
education. 

6. Every person in this state ought to find a certain remedy by 
having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be 
done to his rights of person, property or character. He ought to ob- 
tain right and justice freely and without purchase, completely and 
without denial, iiromi:)tly and without delay, conformably to the laws. 

7. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers and possessions against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but on complaint in 
writing upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched, and the per- 
son or things to be seized. 

8. No person shall be held to answer to a capital or other infamous 
charge unless on indictment by a grand jury except in cases arising in 
the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in 
time of war or public danger. No person shall be tried, after an 
acquittal, for the same crime or offence. 

9. Every man being presumed to be innocent until pronounced 
guilty by the law, all acts of severity that are not necessary to secure 
an accused person ought to be repressed. 

10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel or vmusual punishments inflicted, and all punishments ought 
to be proportioned to the offence. 

11. All prisoners shall be bailable upon sufficient surety, unless for 
capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. 
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the iniblic safety shall 
require it. 

12. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the privi- 
lege of a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; be informed of 
the nature and cause of the accusation; be confronted with the wit- 
nesses against him; have compulsory process to obtain them in his 
favor, and at the public expense, when necessary, have the assistance 
of counsel in his defence, and be at liberty to speak for himself. Nor 
shall he be deprived of his life, liberty or property unless by the judg- 
ment of his peers, or the law of the land. 

13. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and in all 
criminal cases the jury shall judge both of the law and of the facts. 



APPENDIX. 819 

14. Any person in this state who may be claimed to l)e liold to 
labor or service under the laws of any other state, territory or dif- 
trict, shall be entitled to a jury trial, to ascertain the validity ot such 
claim. 

15. No man in a court of common law shall be required to crimi- 
nate himself. 

16. Retrospective laws, civil and criminal, are unjust and oppres- 
sive, and shall not be made. 

17. The people have a right to assemble in a peaceable manner, 
without molestation or restraint, to consult upon the public welfare; 
a right to give instructions to their senators and representatives; and 
a right to apply to those invested with the |)owers of government for 
redress of grievances, for the repeal of injurious laws, for the correc- 
tion of faults of administration, and for all other purposes. 

18. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of free- 
dom in a state, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any sub- 
ject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials 
for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, spoken from good 
motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient defence to the 
person charged. 

19. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just 
compensation; nor unless the public good require it: nor under any 
circumstances until compensation sliall have been made, if required. 

20. The military shall always be held in strict subordination to the 
civil authority. 

21. No soldier shall in time of peace be qiiartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war but in manner 
to be prescribed by law. 

22. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all 
attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by 
civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; 
and whereas a principal object of our venerated ancestors in their 
migration to this country and their settlement of this state, was. as 
thev expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing 
civil state may stand, and be best maintained, with full liberty in 
religious concernments. We therefore declare that no man shall 
be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or 
ministry whatsoever, nor be enforced, restrained, molested or bur- 
dened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from holding anv office, 
nor otherwise siiffer on account of his religious belief ; and that all 
men shall be free to profess, and bv argument to maintain, their opin- 
ions in matters of religion; and that the same shall in no wise diinu> 
ish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities; and that all other religious 
rights and privileges of the people of this state as now enjoyed, shall 
remain inviolate and inviolable. 

23. No witness shall be called in question before the legislature, 
nor in any court of this state, nor before anv magistrate or other per- 
son authorized to administer an oath or affirmation, for his or her 
religious belief, or opinions, or anv part thereof; and no objection to a 
witness, on the ground of his or her religious opinions, shall be enter- 
tained or received. . ,, ., 

24. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the 
rights of fisherv and privileges of the shore to which they have been 
heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this state. 

25. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed 
to impair nor deny others retained by the people. 



320 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

ARTICLE 11. 

OF ELECTORS AND THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 

1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of 
twenty-one years, who has resided in tliis state for one year, and in 
any town, city or district of the same for six months next preceding- 
the election at which he offers to vote, shall he an elector of all otBcers 
who are elected or may hereafter he made eligible by the people. But 
persons in the military, naval or marine service of the United States 
shall not be considered as having such established residence by being 
stationed in any garrison, barrack or military place in any town or 
city in this state. 

2. Paupers and jiersons under guardianship, insane or lunatic are 
excluded from the electoral right; aud the same shall be forfeited on 
conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crimen 
and shall not be restored unless by an act of the General Assembly. 

3. No person who is excluded from voting for want of the qualifi- 
cation first named in section iirst of this article, shall be taxed or be 
liable to do military duty; provided that nothing in said first article 
shall be so construed as to exempt from taxation any property or per- 
sons now liable to be taxed. 

4. No elector who is not possessed of and assessed for ratable prop- 
erty in his own right to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, 
or who shall have neglected or refused to pay any tax assessed upon 
him in any town, city or district for one year preceding the town, city, 
ward or district meeting at which he shall offer to vote, shall be en- 
titled to vote on any qviestion of taxation, or the expenditure of any 
public moneys in such town, city or district, until the same be paid. 

5. In the city of Providence and other cities no person shall be 
eligible to the office of mayor, alderman or common councilman, who 
is not taxed or who shall have neglected or refused to pay his tax, as 
provided in the preceding section. 

(). The voting for all otficers chosen by the people, except town or 
city officers, shall be by ballot; that is to say, by depositing a written 
or printed ticket in the ballot box, Avithout the name of the voter writ- 
ten thereon. Town or city oificers shall be chosen by ballot, on the 
demand of any two persons entitled to vote for the same. 

7. There shall be a strict registration of all qualified voters in the 
towns and cities of the state; and no person shall be permitted to vote 
whose name has not been entered upon the list of voters before the 
polls are opened. 

8. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for the pre- 
vention of fraudulent voting by persons not having an actual per- 
manent residence or home in the state, or otherwise disqualified 
according to this constitution ; for the careful registration of all voters^ 
previously to the time of voting; for the prevention of frauds upon the 
ballot box; for the preservation of the purity of elections; and for the 
safe keeping and accurate counting of the votes; to the end that the 
will of the people may be freely and fully expressed, truly ascertained 
and effectuatly exerted, without intimidation, suppression or unneces- 
sary delay. 

9. The electors shall be exempted from arrest on days of election 
and one day before and one day after the same, except in cases of 
treason, felony or breach of the peace. 

10. No person shall be eligible to any office by the votes of the 
people who does not iJossess the qualifications of an elector. 



APPENDIX. 321 

ARTICLE III. 

OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into three 
departments, the legislative, the executive and the judicial. 

2. No person or persons connected with one of these departments 
shall exercise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, 
except in cases herein directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OF THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct houses, the 
one to be called the house of representatives, the other the senate, 
and both together the General Assembly. The concurrent votes of 
the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws; and the 
style of their laws shall be — Be it enacted by the General Assembly as 
follows. 

2. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any 
civil office under the authority of the state during the term for which 
he shall have been elected. 

3. If any representative or senator in the General Assembly of this 
state shall be appointed to any office under the government of the 
United States, and shall accept the same after his election as such 
senator or representative, his seat shall thereby become vacant. 

4. Any person who holds an office under the government of the 
United States may be elected a member of the General Assembly and 
may hold his seat therein if at the time of taking his seat he shall have 
resigned said office, and shall declare the same on oath or affirmation, 
if required. 

5. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of 
counsel, or act as advocate in any case pending before either branch 
of the General Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat upon 
due proof thereof. 

6. Each house shall judge of the election and qualifications of its 
members; and a majority of all the members of each house, whom 
the towns and senatorial districts are entitled to elect, shall constitiite 
a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from 
day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members in 
such manner and under such penalties as each house may have pre- 
viously i)r escribed. 

7. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds of the members elected, expel a member; but not a second 
time for the same cause. 

8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish 
the same when required by one-fifth of its members. The yeas and 
nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of any five 
members present, be entered on the journal. 

9. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, ad.ioum 
for more than two days, nor to any other place than that at which the 
General Assembly is holding its session. . 

10. The senators and representatives shall in all cases of civil 
process be privileged from arrest during the session of the General 
Assembly, and for two days before the commencement and two days 
after the termination of any session thereof. For any speech in debate 
in either house no member shall be called inlquestion m any other 
place. 

21 



322 HISTOEY OF RHODE ISLAND. * 

11. The civil and military officers heretofore elected in grand 
committee shall hereafter he elected annually hy the General Assem- 
bly in joint committee, composed of the two houses of the General 
Assembly, excepting as is otherwise provided in this constitution, 
and excepting the captains and subalterns of the militia who shall be 
elected by the ballots of the members composing their respective 
companic'S, in such manner as the General Assembly may prescribe; 
and such officers so elected shall be apiiroved of and commissioned 
by the governor, who shall determine their rank, and if said compa- 
nies shall neglect or refuse to make such elections after being duly 
notified, then the governor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such 
offices. 

12. Every bill and every resolution requiring the concurrence of 
the two houses (votes of adjournment accepted) which shall have 
passed both houses of the General Assembly, shall be j^resented to 
the governor for his revision. If he ajiprove of it he shall sign and 
transmit the same to the secretary of state, but if not he shall return 
it to the house in which it shall have originated, with his objections 
thereto which shall be entered at large on their journal. The house 
shall then proceed to reconsider the bill; and if after such reconsidera- 
tion that house shall pass it by a majority of all the members 
elected, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house which 
shall alvSo reconsider it ; and if approved by that house by a majority 
of all the members elected it shall become a law. If the bill shall 
not be returned by the governor within forty-eight hours (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be- 
come a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General 
Assembly by their adjournment prevent its return, in which ca^e it 
shall not be a law. 

13. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly in every 
year; one session to be held at Newport, on the first Tuesday of June, 
for the organization of the government, the election of officers, and 
for other business ; and one other session on the first Tuesday of Jan- 
uary, to be held at Providence, in the first year after the adoption of 
this constitution and in every second year thereafter. In the inter- 
mediate years the Janiiary session shall be forever hereafter held in 
the counties of Washington, Kent, or Bristol, as the General Assem- 
bly may determine before their adjournment in June. 

ARTICLE V. 

OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

1. The house of representatives shall consist of members chosen 
by the electors in the several towns and cities in their respective town 
and ward meetings annually. 

2. The towns and cities shall severally be entitled to elect mem.- 
bers according to the apportionment which follows, viz: Newport to 
elect five; Warwick, four; Smithfield, five; Cumberland, North Provi- 
dence and Scitiiate, three; Portsmouth, Westerly, New Shoreham, 
North Kingstown, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Glocester, 
West Greenwich, Coventry, Exeter, Bristol, Tiverton, Little Comp- 
ton, Warren, Richmond, Cranston, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Johns- 
ton, Foster and Burrillvilleto elect two; and Jamestown, Middletown 
and Barrington to elect one. 

3. In the city of Providence there shall be six representative dis- 
tricts, which shall be the six wards of said city. And the electors 
resident in said districts for the term of three months next preceding 
the election at w^hich they offer to vote, shall be entitled to elect two 
representatives for each district. 



* APPENDIX. 323 

1 f- The General Assembly in case of great inequalitv in tl.c n„,,u. 
lation of the Avards ot the city of Providence, may cause th. houu u- 
ries of the six representative districts therein to be so alt(>red as to 
haSitT ''^'''''* '"" "early as may be, an equal number of' in- 

5. The house of representatives shall have authority to elect their 
own speaker, clerks and other officers. The oath of \,ffice shall be 
administered to the speaker by the secretary of state, or, in his absenco. 
by the attorney-general. ' 

6 AVhenever the seat of a member of the house of representatives 
shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may 
be nlled by a new election. 

ARTICLE VI. 

OF THE SENATE. 

1. The state shall be divided into twelve senatorial districts; and 
each district shall be entitled to one senator, who shall be annually 
chosen by the electors in his district. 

2. The first, second and third representative districts in the city of 
Providence shall constitute the first senatorial district; the fourth, 
fifth and sixth representative districts in said city the second district; 
the town of Sinithfield the third district; the towns of North Provi- 
dence and Cumberland the fourth district; the towns of Scituate, 
Glocester, Burrillville and Johnston the fifth district; the towns of 
Warwick and Cranston the sixth district ; the towns of East Green- 
wich, West Greenwich, Coventry and Foster the seventh district; the 
towns of Newport, JamestoAvn and New Shorehain the eighth dis- 
trict; the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton aiid Little 
Compton the ninth district ; the towns of North Kingstown and South 
Kingstown the tenth district ; the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, 
Exeter, Richmond and Hopkinton the eleventh district; the towns of 
Bristol, Warren and Barrington the twelfth district. 

3. The lieu^tenant-governor, shall be by virtue of his office, presi- 
dent of the senate; and shall have a right, in case of an equal division 
to vote in the same, and also to vote in joint cominitte of the two 
houses. 

4. When the government shall be administered bj- the lieutenant- 
governor, or he shall be unable to attend as president of the senate, 
the senate shall elect one of their own members president of the 
same. 

5. Vacancies in the senate occasioned by death, resignation or 
otherwise, may be filled by a new election. 

6. The secretary of state shall be, by virtue of his office, secretary 
of the senate. 

ARTICLE VII. 

OF IMPEACHMENTS. 

1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of im- 
peachment. . . 

2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and when sitting 
for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person 
shall be convicted except by vote of two-thirds of the members 
elected. When the governor is impeached the chief-justice of the 
supreme court shall preside, with a casting vote in all preliminary 

3. The governor and all other executive and judicial officers shall 
be liable to impeachment, but judgments in such cases shall not 



324 HISTORY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

extend further than removal from office. The party convicted shall 
nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according 
to law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. The chief executive power of this state, shall be vested in a 
governor who shall be chosen by the electors, and shall hold his office 
for one year and until his successor be duly qualified. 

2. No person holding any office or place under the United States, 
this state, any other of the United States, or any foreign power, shall 
exercise the office of governor. 

3. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. 

4. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces 
of the state, excejit when called into the actual service of the United 
States ; but he shall not march nor convey any of the citizens out of 
the state without their consent, or that of the General Assembly, un- 
less it shall become necessary in order to march or transport them 
from one part of the state to another, for the defence thereof. 

6. He shall appoint all civil and military officers whose appoint- 
ment is not by this constitution, or shall not, by law, be otherwise 
provided for. 

6. He shall from time to time inform the General Assembly of the 
condition of the state, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he may deem exiiedient. 

7. He may require from any military officer or any officer in the 
executive department, information upon any subject relating to the 
duties of his cffice. 

8. He shall have power to remit forfeitures and i^enalties, and to 
grant reprieves, commutation of punishments and pardons after con- 
viction, except in cases of impeachment. 

9. The governor shall at stated times receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall not be increased nor diminished during his 
continuance in office. 

10. There shall be elected in the same manner as is provided for 
the election of governor, a lieutenant-governor, who shall continue in 
office for the same term of time. Whenever the office of governor 
shall become vacant by death, resignation, removal from office or 
otherwise, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the office of governor 
until another governor shall be duly qualified. 

11. AVhenever the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor shall 
both become vacant by death, resignation, removal from office, or 
otherwise, the president of the senate shall exercise the office of 
governor Tintil a governor be duly qualified; and should such vacancies 
occur during a recess of the General Assembly, and there be no presi- 
ident of the senate, the secretary of state shall by proclamation con- 
vene the senate, that a president may be chosen to exercise the office 
of governor. 

12. Whenever the lieutenant-governor or president of the senate 
shall exercise the office of governor, he shall receive the compensation 
of governor only; and his duties as president of the senate shall cease 
while he shall continue to act as governor; and the senate shall fill 
the vacancy by an election from their own body. 

13. In case of a disagreement between the two houses of the Gen- 
eral Assembly respecting the time or place of adjournment, the person 
exercising the office of governor may adjourn them to such time or 
place as he shall think i)roper; provided, that the time of adjournment 
shall not be extended beyond the first day of the next stated session. 



APPENDIX. 326 

14. The person exercising tlie office of governor may, in cases of 
special necessity convene tlie CJeneral Asseinl)lv at any tf.wn or city in 
this state, at any other time than lierein belore lu-o'viderl. And, in 
case of danger from the prevalence of epid(!mic or contagious diseases 
or from other circninstances in the place in whicli the (Jeiicral As^ 
sembly are next to meet, he may by proclamation convene tlie Assem- 
bly at any other place within the state. 

15. A secretary of state, a general treasurer and an attorney-gen- 
eral shall also be chosen annually, in the same manner and for the 
same time as is herein provided respecting the governor. The duties 
of these offices shall be the same as are now or' may hereafter l»e pr(!- 
scribed by law. Should there be a failure to choose"^ either of them, or 
should a vacancy occur in either of their offices, the (General Assembly 
shall fill the place by an election in joint committee. 

1(). The electors in each county shall, at the annual elections, vote 
for an inhabitant of the county to be sheriff of said county for one 
year and until a successor be duly qualified. In case no person shall 
have a majority of the electoral votes of his county for sherilT, the 
General Assembly, in joint committee, shall elect a sheriff from the 
two candidates, who shall have the greatest number of votes in such 
county. 

17. All commissions shall be in the name of the State of Illiode 
Island and Providence Plantations, sealed witli the seal of the state, 
and attested by the secretary. 

ARTICLE IX. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the state, and all 
laws contrary to or inconsistent with the same which may be passed 
by the General Assembly shall be null and void. 

2. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for carrying 
this constitution into effect. 

3. The judges of all the courts, and all other officers, both civil 
and military, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to the due obser- 
vance of tliis constitution and of the constitution of the United 
States. 

4. No jurisdiction shall hereafter be entertained by the General 
Assembly in cases of insolvency, divorce, sale of real estate of minors, 
or appeal from judicial decisions, nor in any other matters appertain- 
ing to the jurisdiction of judges and courts of law. But the General 
Assembly shall confer upon the courts of the state all necessary pow- 
ers for affording relief in the cases herein named; and the General 
Assembly shalf exercise all other jurisdiction and authority which 
they have heretofore entertained, and which is not prohibited by, or 
repugnant to this constitution. 

5. The General Assembly shall from time to time cause estimates 
to be made of the ratable property of the state, ;n order to the c(iuitan 
ble apportionment of state taxes. 

6. Whenever a direct tax is laid by the state, one-sixth part thereof 
shall be assessed on the polls of the qualified electors, provided that 
the tax on a poll shall never exceed the sum of fifty cents, and that all 
persons who actually perform military duty, or duty in the fire depart- 
ment, shall be exeinpted from said poll tax. 

7. The General Assembly shall have no power hereafter to incur 
state debts to an amount exceeding the sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
except in time of war, or in case of invasion, without the <-'>^pres3 
consent of the people. Every proposition for such increase shall be 



326 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

submitted to the electors at the next annual election, or on some day 
to be set apart for that purpose, and shall not be farther entertained 
by the General Assembly, unless it receive the votes of a majority of 
all the persons voting. This section shall not be construed to refer to 
any money that now is, or hereafter may be, deposited with this state 
by the general government. 

8. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house 
of the General Assembly shall be requisite to every bill appropriating 
the public moneys, or property for local or private purposes; or for 
creating, continuing, altering or renewing any body politic or corpo- 
rate, banking corporations excepted. 

9. Hereafter when any bill creating, continuing, altering or renew- 
ing any banking corporation, authorized to issue its promissory notes 
for circulation shall pass the two houses of the General Assembly, 
instead of being sent to the governor, it shall be referred to the electors 
for their consideration at the next annual election, or on some day to 
be set apart for that purpose, with printed tickets, containing the 
question, shall said bill (with a brief description thereof) be approved, 
or not; and if a majority of the electors voting shall vote to approve 

' said bill it shall become a law, otherwise not. 

10. All grants of incorporation shall be subject to future acts of 
the General Assembly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in any 
•wise affecting the same, and this provision shall be inserted in all acts 
of incorporation hereafter granted. 

11. The General Assembly shall exercise as heretofore a visitorial 
power over corporations. Three bank commissioners shall be chosen 
at the June session for one year, to carry cut the powers of the Gen- 
eral Assembly in this respect. And commissioners for the visitation 
of other corporations, as the General Assembly may deem expedient, 
shall be chosen at the June*session for the same term of office. 

12. No city council or other g-overnment in any city shall have 
power to vote any tax upon the "inhabitants thereof, excepting the 
amount necessary to meet the ordinary public expenses in the same, 
without first submitting the question of an additional tax or taxes to 
the electors of said city; and a majority of all who vote shall deter- 
mine the question. But no elector shall be entitled to vote in any 
city upon any question of taxation thus submitted, unless he shall 
be qualified by the possession in his own right of ratable property to 
the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, and shall have been as- 
sessed thereon to pay a city tax, and shall have paid the same as 
provided in section fourth of Article II. Nothiiig in that article 
shall be construed as to prevent any elector from voting for town 
officers, and in the city of Providence and other cities for mayor, 
aldermen, and members of the common council. 

13. The General Assembly shall not i)ass any law nor caiise any 
act or thing to be done in any way to disturb any of the owners or 
occupants of land in any territory now under the jurisdiction of any 
other state or states, the jurisdiction whereof may be ceded to, or 
decreed to belong to this state; and the inhabitants of such territory 
shall continue iii the full, quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of their 
titles to the same, without interference in any way on the part of this 
state. 

ARTICLE X. 

OF ELEC'TIOISrS. 

1. The election of the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of 
state, general treasurer, attorney-general, and also of senators and 
representatives to the General Assembly, and of sheriffs of the coim- 
ties, shall be held on the third Wednesday of April, annually. 



APPENDIX. 327 

2. The names of the persons voted for as jjovcnior. liciiiciiinii-'aiv- 
ernor, secretary of state, general treasurer. alt( rii('v-;;vii< lal "iiul 
sheriffs of the respective counties, shall he ]uit upon one ticket : and 
the tickets shall he deposited by the electors in a ho\ hy tlicmsclvcs. 
The names of the persons voted for as senators and as r('i>reseMtativcs 
shall he put upon sei)arate tickets, and the tickets shall he deposited 
in separate hoxes. The polls for all the otticers named in this section 
shall he opened at the same time. 

3. All the votes given for governor, lieutenant-governor, s«'cretary 
of state, general treasurer, attorney-general, sheriffs, and also for 
senators shall remain in the hallot boxes till the polls he closed. These 
votes shall then, in open town and ward meetings, and in the pres- 
ence of at least ten qualitied voters, he taken out ami sealed ui» in 
separate envelopes by the moderators and town clerks and by the 
wardens and ward clerks, who shall certify the same and fortiiwith 
deliver or send them to the secretary of state, whose duty it shiill he 
securely to keep the same, and to deliver the votes foi- state officers 
and sheriffs to the speaker of the house of representatives after the 
house shall he organized at the June session of the (General Assenddy. 
The votes last named shall, without delay, be opened, counted and 
declared in such manner as the house of representatives shall direct, 
and the oath of office shall he administered to the i)ersons who shall 
be declared to he elected by the speaker of the lumse of rei»resenta- 
tives, and in the presence of the house ; provided that the sheriffs 
may take their engagement before a senator, judge or Justice of 
the peace. The votes for senators shall be counted by the governor 
and secretarj^ of state within seven days from the day of election ; 
and the governor shall give certificates to the senators who are 
elected. 

4. The boxes containing the votes for representatives to the Gen- 
eral Assembly in the several towns shall not be opened till the ])olls 
for representatives are declared to be closed. The votes shall then be 
counted by the. moderator and clerk, who shall announce the result 
and give certificates to the persons elected. If tliere be no election, 
or not an election of the whole number of representatives to which 
the town is entitled, the polls for representatives may be reopened, and 
the like proceedings shall be had until an election shall take place ; 
provided, however, that an adjournment of the election may be made 
to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. 

5. In the city of Providence and other cities, the polls for repre- 
sentatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the 
day; and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close 
of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks, in the presence of at 
least ten qualitied electors, and delivered to the city clerks. The 
mayor and aldermen of said city or cities shall proceed to count said 
votes within two davs from the day of election; and if no election, or 
an election of only "'a portion of the representatives whom the repre- 
sentative districts are entitled to elect shall have taken pliice, the 
mayor and aldermen shall order a new election, to he ludd not more than 
ten days from the day of the first elaction; and so on till the election 
of representatives shall be completed. Certificates of election shall be 
furnished to the persons chosen by the city clerks. 

8. If there be no choice of a senator or senators at the annual elec- 
tion, the governor shall issue his warrant to the town and ward clerks 
of the several towns and cities in the senatorial district or districts that 
may have failed to elect, requiring them to open town or ward meet- 
ings for another election, on a day not more than filteeii days beyond 
the time of counting the votes for senators. If, on the second trial 
there shall be no choice of a senator or senators the governor sliall 
certify the result to the speaker of the house of representatives; and 



328 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

the house of representatives, and as manj- senators as shall have heen 
chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a senatoi- or senators 
from the two candidates who may receive the highest numher of votes 
in each district. 

7. If there be no choice of governor at the annual election, the 
speaker of the house of representatives shall issue his warrant to the 
clerks of the several towns and cities requiring them to notify town 
and ward meetings for another election, on a day to he named hy him, 
not more than thirty nor less than twenty days beyond the time of 
receiving the report of the committee of the house of rei)resentatives, 
who shall count tlie votes for governor. If, on this second trial there 
shall be no choice of a governor, the two houses of the General As- 
sembly, shall, at their next session, in joint committee elect a gov- 
ernor from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, to 
hold his oftice for the remainder of the political year, and until his suc- 
cessor be duly qualified. 

8. If there be no choice of governor and lieutenant-governor at 
the annual election, the same proceedings for the choice of a lieu- 
tenant-governor shall be had as are directed in the preceding section; 
provided that the second trial for the election of governor and 
lieutenant-governor shall be on the same day; and also provided, 
that if the governor shall be chosen at tlie annual election and the 
lieutenant-governor shall not be chosen, then the last named officer 
shall be elected in joint committee of the two houses from the two 
candidates having the highest number of votes, without a further ap- 
peal to the electors. The lieutenant-governor, elected as is iirovided 
in this section, shall hold his office as is provided in the preceding 
section respecting the governor. 

9. All town, city and ward meetings for the choice of representa- 
tives, justices of the peace, sheriffs, senators, state officers, represen- 
tatives to Congress and electors of president and vice-president, shall 
he notified by the town, city and ward clerks at least seven days be- 
fore the same are held. 

10. In all elections held by the peo^ile under this constitution, a 
majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the choice of 
the person or persons voted for. 

11. The oath or affirmation to be taken by all the officers named 
in this article shall be the following: You, being elected to the place of 
governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, 
attorney-general, or to the places of senators or representatives, or to 
the office of sheriff or justice of the peace, do solemnly swear, or 
severally solemnly swear, or affirm, that you will be true and faithful 
to the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and that 
you will support the constitution thereof; that you will support the 
constitution of the United States, and that you will faithfully and 
impartially discharge the duties of your aforesaid office to the best of 
your abilities and understanding — So help you God! or, this affirmar- 
tion you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. 



ARTICLE XL 

OF THE JUDICIARY. 

1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one supreme 
court, and in such other courts inferior to the supreme court as the 
legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish; and the 
jurisdiction of the supreme and of all other courts, may, from time to 
time be regulated by the General Assembly. 



APPENDIX. 8i^9 

2. Chancery powers m.ay be conferred on tlic suin-enic court; but 
no other court exercising chancery powers shall be established in this 
state, except as is now provided by law. 

3. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected in joint 
committee of the two houses, to hold their otiices for one year, and 
until their places be declared vacant by a resolution to that effect, 
which shall be voted for by a majority of all the nu;mbers elected to 
the house in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same 
vote of the other house, without revision by the governor. Such reso- 
lution shall not be entertained at any other than the annual se.s.sion 
for the election of public officers; and in default of the passage thereof 
at the said session, the judge or judges shall hold his or their place or 
places for another year. But a judge of any court shall be removable 
from office, if upon impeachment, he shall be found guilty of any 
official midemeanor. 

4. In case of vacancy by the death, resignation, refusal, or inability 
to serve, or removal from the state of a judge of any court, his place 
may be filled by the joint committee until the next annual election; 
when, if elected, he shall hold his office as herein provided. 

5. The justices of the supreme court shall receive a compensation, 
which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

6. The judges of the courts inferior to the supreme court shall be 
annually elected in joint committee of the two houses, except aa 
herein provided. 

7. There shall be annually elected by each town and by the sev- 
eral wards in the city of Providence, a sufficient number of justices 
of the peace or wardens resident therein with such jurisdiction as 
the General Assembly may prescribe. And said justices or wardens, 
(except in the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown) shall be 
commissioned by the governor. 

8. The General Assembly may provide that justices of the peace 
who are not re-elected, may hold their offices for a time not exceeding 
ten days beyond the day of the annual election of tliese officers. 

9. The courts of probate in this state, except the supreme court, 
shall remain as at present established by law, until the General As- 
sembly shall otherwise prescribe. 

ARTICLE XII. 

OF EDUCATION. 

1. All moneys which now are, or may hereafter be appropriated 
by the authority of the state to public education, shall be securely 
invested, and remain a perpetual fund for the maintenance of free 
schools in this state; and the General Assembly are prohibited from 
diverting said moneys or fund from this use, and from borrowing, 
appropriating or using the same or any part thereof for any other 
purpose, or under any pretence whatsoever. But the income derived 
from said moneys or fund, shall be annually paid over by the general 
treasurer to the towns and cities of the state, for the support ot said 
schools in equitable proportions; provided, however, that a portion of 
said income may, in the discretion of the General Assembly, be added 
to the principal of said fund. .,.,,-, ^ ^i • ^ 

2. The several towns and cities shall faithfully devote their por- 
tions of said annual distribution to the support of free schools; ana 
in default thereof shall forfeit their shares of the same to the m- 

crease of the fund. ^ - r u lo ^„/^ 

3. All charitable donations for the support of free schools and 
other purposes of public education, shall be received by the General 



380 HISTOEY OF KHODE ISLAND. 

Assembly and invested, and applied agreeably to the terms prescribed 
by the donors, provided the same be not inconsistent with the consti- 
tution, or with sound public policy; in which case the donation shall 
not be received. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitu- 
tion by the vote of a majority of all the members elected to each 
house. Such propositions shall be published in the newspapers of 
the state ; and printed copies of said propositions shall be sent by the 
secretary of state, with the names of all the members who shall have 
voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks 
in the state; and the said propositions shall be by said clerks inserted 
in the notices l;y them issued for warning the next annual town and 
ward meetings in Ai)ril; and the town and ward clerks shall read said 
propositions to the electors when thus assembled, with the names of 
all the representatives and senators who shall have voted thereon, 
with the yeas and nays, before the election of representatives and sen- 
ators shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected at said 
annual meetings, present in each house, shall aj^proA'c any proposition 
thus made, the same shall be published as before jn-ovided and then 
sent to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval; and 
if then api^roved by a majority of the electors who shall vote iai town 
and ward meetings to be specially couA^ened for that purpose, it shall 
become a part of the constitution of the state. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

OF THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

1. This constitution shall be submitted to the peojjle for their 
adoption or rejection, on Monday, the 27th day of December next, and 
on the two succeeding days ; and all persons*^ A^oting are requested to 
deposit in the ballot-boxes printed or written tickets in the following 
form: I am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-f)ne years, and 
have my permanent residence or home in this state. I am (or not) 
qualified to vote under the existing laws of this state. I vote for (or 
against) the constitution formed by the convention of the people, 
assembled at Providence, and which was proposed to the peojile by 
said convention, on the 18th day of November, 184L 

2. Every voter is requested to write his name on the face of his 
ticket; and every person entitled to vote as aforesaid, who from sick- 
ness or other causes may be unable to attend and vote in the town or 
ward meetings, assembled for voting iTi)on said constitution on the 
days aforesaid, is requested to write his name upon a ticket, and to 
obtain the signature upon the back of the same of a i)erson who has 
given his vote as a witness thereto. And the moderator or clerk of 
any town or ward meeting convened for the purpose aforesaid, shall 
receive such vote on either of the three days next succeeding the 
three days before named for voting on said constitution. 

3. Tlie citizens of the several towns in this state, and of the 
several wards in the city of Providence, are requested to hold town 
and Avard meetings on the days ajtpointed and for the purjiose afore- 
said; and also to choose in each town andAAard a moderator and clerk 
to conduct said meetings and receiA'e the votes. 

4. The moderators and clerks are required to receiA^e and carefully 
to keep the votes of all persons qualified to vote as aforesaid, and to 
make registers of all the persons A'oting: which, together Avith the 
tickets given in by the Aoters shall be sealed ujj and returned by said 



APPENDIX. 331 

moderators and clerks, with certilicates signed and scaled ]»v tlicm to 
the clerks of the convention of the people, to he hy them "safely de- 
posited and kept, and laid hefore said convention to he coiuitecj and 
declared at their next adjourned meeting on the 12th day of January, 
1842. 

5. This constitution, except so much thereof as relates to the elec- 
tion of the ofiticers named in the sixtli section of tliis article, shall, if 
adopted, go into operation on the first Tuesday in May, in the year 
one thousand eight hundred and forty-two. 

G. So much of the constitution as relates to th(! election of olhccrs 
named in this section, shall go into operation on the Monday hefore the 
third Wednesday of April next preceding. The first election under 
this constitution of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretarv of state, 
general treasurer and attorney-general, of senators and rei)resentatives, 
of sheriffs for the several counties, and of justices of the peace for 
the several towns and the wards of the city of Providence, shall take 
place on the Monday aforesaid 

7. The electors of the several towns and wards are authorized to as- 
semble on the day aforesaid, without being notified as is i)rovi(lcd in sec- 
tion ninth of Article X., and without the registration recpiired in section 
seventh of Article II., and to choose moderators and clerks, and pro- 
ceed in the election of the officers named in the i)receding section. 

8. The votes given in at the first election for representatives to the 
General Assembly and for justices of the peace, shall he counted by 
the moderators and clerks of the towns and wards chosen as afore- 
said; and certificates of election shall be furnished by them to the 
representatives and justices of the x)eace elected. 

9. Said moderators and clerks shall seal up, certify, and transmit 
to the house of representatives all the votes that may be given in at 
said first election for governor and state officers, and for senators and 
sheriffs; and the votes shall be counted as the house of representatives 
may direct. 

10. The speaker of the house of representatives shall, at the first 
session of the same, qualify himself to administer the oath of office to 
the members of the house and to other officers, by taking aiul subscrib- 
ing the same oath in presence of the house. 

11. The first session of the General Assembly shall be held in the 
city of Providence, on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty-two, with such adjournments as may be 
necessary; but all other sessions shall be held as is provided in Article 
IV. of this Constitution. 

12. If any of the representatives whom the towns or districts are 
entitled to choose, at the first annual election aforesaid, sliall not be 
then elected, or if their places shall become vacant during the year, 
the same i>roceedings nnxy be had to complete the ele_ction, or to sup- 
ply vacancies as are directed concerning elections in the preceding 
sections of this article. 

13. If there shall be no election of governor or lieutenant-governor, 
or of both of these officers, or of a senator or senators at the first 
annual election, the house of representatives and as many senators 
as are chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint connnittee, a governor 
or lieutenant-governor, or both, or a senator or senators, to hold 
their offices for the remainder of the political year, and. in the case 
of the two olTticers first named, until their successors shall he duly 
qualified. 

11. If the number of the justices of the peace determnicd by the 
several towns and wards on the day of the first annual election shall 
not be then chosen, or if vacancies shall occur, the sanu^ proceedings 
shall be had as are provided for in this article in the case of a non- 
election of representatives and senators, or of vacancies in their offices. 



332 HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

The justices of the peace thus elected shall hold office for the remain- 
der of the political year, or until the second annual election of justices 
of the peace to he held on such day as may he prescribed by the Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

15. The justices of the peace elected in pursuance of the provisions 
of this article may be engaged by the persons acting as moderators of 
the town and ward meetings as herein provided; and said justices 
after obtaining their certificates of election, may discharge the duties 
of their office for a time not exceeding twenty days, without a com- 
mission from the governor. 

IG. Nothing contained in this article, inconsistent with any of the 
provisions of other articles of the constitution shall continue in force 
for a longer period than the first political year under the same. 

17. The jjresent government shall exercise all the i^owers with 
which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday in May, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty-two, and until their successors under this 
constitution shall be duly elected and qualified. 

18. All civil, judicial and military officers now elected, or who shall 
hereafter be elected by the General Assembly or other competent 
authority, before the said first Tuesday of May, shall hold their offices 
and may exercise their i^owers until that time. 

19. All laws and statutes, public and i:)rivate, now in force and not 
repugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they ex- 
pire by their own limitation, or are rei^ealed by the General Assembly. 
All contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as 
valid as if this constitution had not been made. All debts contracted, 
and engagements entered into before the adoption of this constitution, 
shall be as valid against the state as if this constitution had not been 
made. 

20. The supreme court established by this constitution shall have 
the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present estab- 
lished; and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed 
to or pending in the same; and shall be held in the same times and 
places in each county as the i>resent supreme judicial court until the 
General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. 

21. The citizens of the town of New Shoreham shall be hereafter 
exempted from military duty and the duty of serving as jurors in the 
courts of this state. The citizens of the town of Jamestown shall be 
forever hereafter exemi)ted from military field duty. 

22. The General Assembly shall, at their first session after the 
adoption of this constitution, propose to the electors the question, 
whether the word " white," in the first line of the first section of Ar- 
ticle II. of the constitution shall be stricken out. The question shall 
be voted upon at the succeeding annual election; and if a majority of 
the electors voting shall vote to strike out the word aforesaid, it shall 
be stricken from the constitution; otherwise not. If the word afore- 
said shall be stricken out, section third of Article II. shall cease to be 
a part of the constitution. 

23. The president, vice-president arid secretaries shall certify and 
sign this constitution, and cause the same to be published. 

Done in convention at Providence, on the eighteenth day of No- 
vember, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, and of 
American Independence the sixty-sixth. 

JOSEPH JOSLIN, President of the Convention. 
WAGER V/EEDEN, 



Attest . 



SAMUEL H. WALES, } ^"'''- ^''^^^'^^^^^^ 



William H. Smith, ) ., . . 
John S. Harris ( ^'^ecretanes. 



m)t Btatc Seal. 



The coat of arms of the State is familiar to every citizen for it is im 
pressed on public documents and meets the eye oii monun'ients •md in 
newspapers. Its simplicity and its si^irniticance, as well as its correct 
heraldry render it superior to that of any of the other states- and the 
words by which it is described in our statute book, have a sin-iilir 
force and beauty. " There shall continue to be one seal for the public 
use of the State; the form of an anchor shall be en<?raven thereon and 
the motto thereof shall be the word Hope." " ' 

This has been the seal of the State ever since the adoption of the 
charter, in May, 1664. Previous to that time the seal consisted of an 
anchor only, on a shield, without the motto " Hope." At the first 
meeting of the General Assembly under the "parliamentary patent," 
in 1647, it was "ordered that the seal of the province shall be aii anchor/' 
and on the margin of the original manuscript, now preserved in the 
office of the secretary of state, is simply an anchor upon a shield, 
drawn by the pen of the writer. 

But this was not the first seal the State may claim to have possessed. 
At a meeting of the Newport Colony at Portsmouth, in 1641, six years 
before the establishment of the anchor as the seal, it was "ordered, 
that a manual scale shall be provided for the State, and that the signett 
or engraving thereof, shall be a sheaf of arrows bound up, and oii the 
liass or band, this motto: Amor omnia rinclt." 

The seal of the anchor with the motto " Hope," was surrounded by 
a circle, in which was inscribed the words Colonie of Rhode Island 
AND Providence Plantations, and several impressions of it may be 
found among the old records of the State. This seal Andros l)roke, at 
the time of his usurpation in 1686-7. But after his expulsion, and on 
the reorganization of the General Assembly, 1689-90, anew seal was 
ordered, precisely like the old seal, except that the words " Colonie 
of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" were omitted: nor did 
these words ever again form a part of the seal until this year, (1875), 
when they were restored by an act of the General Assembly, in Janu- 
ary last, and the date 1636 added. Of course the word "' Colonic " was 
altered to the word " State." 

No impression of the Newport seal — the sheaf of arrows; nor of the 
seal under the parliamentary i^atent — the anchor alone — exists among 
the archives of the State. Perhaps some of the antiquarian readers of 
the Journal may know where such impressions may be found. And 
perhaps also some one may know why the anchor originally came to 
be chosen as the device of the seal. Was this the "bearing" of the 
shield of the family of Roger Williams, or of any of the families who 
accompanied him ? Did the idea arise from the depressing circum- 
stances of the time ? If so, why was the word Hope not added until 
seventeen years afterwards, and in comparatively prosperous times ? 
Was there any reason why the legend " Colonie of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations" was omitted after the expulsion of Andros? 
Whence came the cable now surrounding the shank, and thus con- 
verting the anchor into a " foul anchor " ? And whence the rock and 
the waves, with light-house and ship in the distance, as is now fre- 
quently seen? And how came the shield altered into unmeaning 
scroll-work ? Is there any more authority for these changes than the 
ill-informed fancy of the seal-engravers from time to time ? 



Note.— For this excellent dissertation on the seal of Rhode Island, I am indebted to 

my friend, the Hon. T. P. Shcpard. 



ioucrnor^ of %\)oht |0lanD, 



The State originally consisted of four towns: Providence, settled in 1636; 
Portsmouth, in 1638; Newport, in 1639 ; and Warwick, in 1642. Each town was 
governed independently until 1647. Providence and "Warwick had no executive 
head till 1647. 

PORTSMOUTH. 



William Coddington, 
William Hutchinson, 



William Coddington, 



NEWPORT. 

JUDGE. 



March 7, 1638 to April 30. 1639. 
April 30, 1639 to March 12, 1640. 



April 28, 1639 to March 12, 1640. 



PORTSMOUTH AND NEWPORT.* 



GOVERNOR. 



William Coddington, .... March 12, 1640 to May 19, 1647. 

lu 1647 the four towns were united under a charter or patent, granted in 1643, by 
Parliament. 



PRESIDENTS UNDER THE PATENT. 



John Coggeshall, 
William Coddington, 
John Smith, . 
Nicholas Easton, 



May, 1647 to May, 1648. 
May, 1648 to May, 1649. 
May, 1649 to May, 1650. 
May, 1650 to Aug., 1651. 



In 1651 a separation occurred between the towns of Providence and Warwick on 
the one side, and Portsmouth and Newport on the other. 



PROVIDENCE AND WARWICK. 



PRESIDENTS. 



Samuel Gorton, 
John Smith, 
Gregory Dexter, 



Oct., 1651 to May, 1652. 
May, 1652 to May, 1653. 
May, 1653 to May, 1654. 



PORTSMOUTH AND NEWPORT. 

PRESIDENT. 



John Sandford, Senior. ..... 

In 1654 the union of the four towns was reestablished. 



May, 1653 to May, 1654. 



* United in 1640. 



APPENDIX. 



335 



PRESIDENTS. 



Nicholas Easton, 
Roger Williams, 
Benedict Arnold, 
"William Brenton, 
Benedict Arnold, 



Benedict Arnold, 
William Brenton, 
Benedict Arnold, 
Nicholas Easton, 
William Coddin'gtoB, 
Walter Clarke, 
Benedict Arnold, . 
William Coddingtou. . 
John Cranston, 
Peleg Sandford, 
William Coddington, Jr 
Henry Bull, . 
Walter Clarke.* 
Henry Bull, 
John Easton, 
Caleb Carr, . 
Walter Clarke, . 
Samuel Cranston, 
Joseph Jenckes, 
William Wanton, . 
John Wanton, 
Richard Ward, 
William Greene, 
Gideon Wanton, 
William Greene, 
Gideon Wanton, 
William Greene, 
Stejihen Hopkins, 
William Greene, 
Stephen Hopkins, 
Samuel Ward, 
Stephen Hopkins, 
Samuel Ward, 
Stephen Hopkins, 
Josias Lyndon, 
Joseph Wanton, . 
Nicholas Cooke, 



May, 1654 to Sept. 12. 1654. 
Sept., 1654 to May. 1657. 
May, 1657 to May. 1660. 
May, 16G0 to May, 1662. 
May, 1662 to Nov. 25, 1663. 



ROYAL CHARTER. 



GOVERNORSi 



Nov., 1663 to May, 1666. 

May, 1666 to May, 1669. 

May, 1669 to May, 1672. 

May, 1672 to May, 1674. 

May, 1674 to May, 1676. 

May, 1676 to May, 1677. 

1677 to June 20, 1678. Died. 

Aug. 28, 1678 to Nov. 1. 1678. Died. 

Nov., 1678 to March 12, 1680. Died. 

March 16, 1680 to May, 1683. 

May, 1683 to Jlay, 1685. 

. May, 1685 to May, 1686. 

. May, 1686 to June 29, 1686. 

. Feb. 27, to May 7, 1690. 

May, 1690 to May, 1695. 

May, 1695 to Dec. 17, 1695. Died. 

Jan., 1696 to March, 1698. 

Mar., 1698 to April 26, 1727. Died. 

May, 1727 to May, 1732. 

. May, 1732 to Dec, 1733. Died. 

May, 1734 to July 5, 1740. Died. 

. July 15, 1740 to May, 1743. 

. May. 1743 to May, 1745. 

May, 1745 to May, 1746. 

. May, 1746 to May, 1747. 

May. 1747 to ]\Iay, 1748. 

^ May, 1748 to May, 1755. 

May, 1755 to May, 1757. 

May, 1757 to Feb. 22, 1758. Died. 

March 14, 1758 to May, 1762. 

. May, 1762 to May, 1763. 

May, 1763 to May. 1765. 

. May, 1765 to May, 1767. 

May, 1767 to May. 1768. 

. May, 17(>8 to May, 1769. 

1769 to Nov. 7. 1775. Deposed. 

. Nov., 1775 to May, 1778. 



* The charter was suspended till 1689. The Deputy-Governor, John Coggeshall, acted 
as Governor during the interval, Governor Clarke refusing to serve. 



336 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 



William Greene, 
John Collins, 
Arthur Fanner,* 
James Fanner, 
William Jones, 
Nehemiah R. Kiiight,t 
William C. Gibbs, 
James Fenner, 
Lemuel H. Arnold, 
John Brown Francis, 
William Sprague,t 
Samuel Ward King, 



May, 1778 to,1786. 

. May, 1786 to 1790. 

1790 to 1805. Died. 

. May, 1807 to 1811. 

May, 1811 to 1817. 

May. 1817 to Jan. 9, 1821. 

May, 1821 to 1824. 

. May, 1824 to 1831. 

1831 to 1833. 

. 1833 to 1838. 

1838 to 1839. 

1840 to 1843. 



UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 



(Adopted in 1842.) 



James Fenner, 
Charles Jackson, 
Byron Diraan, 
Elisha Harris, 
Henry H. Anthony, . 
Philip Allen,§ 
William Warner Hoppin, 
Elisha Dyer 
Thomas G. Turner, 
William Sprague, 
William C. Cozzens,|| 
James Y. Smith, 
Ambrose E. Burnside, 
Seth Padelford, 
Henry Howard, 
Henry Lippitt. 



1843 to 1845. 
. 1845 to 1846. 

1846 to 1847. 
. 1847 to 1849. 

1849 to 1851. 
. 1851 to 1853. 

1854 to 1857. 
. 1857 to 1859, 

1859 to 1860. 

1860 to March 3, 1863. Resigned. 

March 3, 1803 to May, 1863. 

. 1863 to 1866. 

1866 to 1869. 
. 1869 to 1873. 

1873 to 1875. 
. 1875 to 



* Paul Mumford, Deputy-Governor, died. Henry Smith, First Senator, offlclated as 
Governor. In 1806, no election ; Isaac Wilbour, Lieutenant-Governor, officiated. 

t Elected United States Senator January 9, 1821, for unexpired term of James Burrill, 
Jr., deceased. 

i In 1839 no choice ; Samuel Ward King was First Senator and Acting-Governor. 

J Resigned July 20, 1853, having been elected United States Senator May 4, 1853. Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, F. M. Dimond, officiated. 

8 Governor Sprague resigned March 3, 1F63, and Lieutenant-Governor Arnold having 
been elected to the Senate Mr. Cozzens became Governor by virtue of his office aa 
President of the Senate. 



icputii ioumioro: 



William Brenton, 



iMaich 12, 1640 to May 1!>, lf,4T. 



From 1647 to 1663 the Colony was governed by a president, with four assist- 
ants. 



William Brenton, 
Nicholas Easton, 
John Clarke, 
Nicholas Easton, 
John Clarke, 
John Cranston, 
William Coddiugton, 
John Easton, 
John Cranston, 
James Barker. 
Walter Clarke, 
John Coggeshall, 



John Coggeshall, 
John Greene, 
Walter Clarke, . 
Henry Tew, 
Joseph Jencks, 
John Wanton, 
Joseph Jencks, 
Jonathan Nicholls, 
Thomas Frye, 
John Wanton, 
George Hassard, 
Daniel Abbott, 
Richard Ward, 
William Greene, 
Joseph Whipple, 
William Robinson, 
Joseph Whipple, 
William Robinson, 
William Ellery, . 
Robert Haszard, 
Joseph Whipple, . 
Jonathan Nichols. 
John Gardner, 
Jonathan Nichols, 
John Gardner, 
Joseph Wanton, Jr., 
Elisha Brown, 
Joseph \Vanton, Jr., 
Nichelas Cooke, . 
Darius Session.s, 
Nicriolas Cooke, . 
William Bradford, 

22 



1C63 to 166H. 

1666 to 1609. 
. 1660 to 1670. 

1670 to 1671. 
. 1071 to 1672. 

1072 to 1673. 
. 1673 to 1074. 

1674 to 1676. 

1076 to 1678. 

1678 to 1679. 

1679 to 1686. 
May to June, 1686. 



(Charter suspended, 1686 to 1690.) 



1690, 

1690 to 1700. 

. 1700 to 1714. Died. 

1714 to 1715. 

. 1715 to 1721. 

1721 to 1722. 

. 1722 to 1727. 

May to August, 1727. Died. 

. 1727 to 1729. 

1729 to 1734. 



.Mav 



734 to 1738. Died. 

1738 to 1740. 
May to July, 1740. 

1740 to 1743. 

1743 to 1745. 

1745 to 1740. 
. 1746 to 1747. 

1747 to 1748. 
. 1748 to 1750. 

1750 to 1751. 
. 1751 to 1753. 

1753 to 1754. 

1754 to 1755. 

1755 to 1750. 
1750 to 1704. 
1764 to 1705. 

. 1765 to 1767. 
1767 to 1708. 
176Stol769. 
1769 to 1775. 
o November, 1775. 
1775 to 1778. 



338 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 



Jabez Bowen, 
William West, 
Jabez Bowen, 
Daniel Owen, 
Samuel J. Potter, 



1778 to 1780. 

1780 to 1781. 

1781 to 1786. 
1786 to 1790. 
1790 to 1799. 



The title was now changed to lieutenant-governor. 



LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS. 



Samuel J. Potter, 
George Brown, . 
Samuel J. Potter, 
Paul Mumford, 
Isaac Wilbour, 
Constant Taber, . 
Simeon Martin, 
Isaac Wilbour, 
Simeon Martin, 
Jeremiah Thurston, 
Edward Wilcox, 
Caleb Earle, 
Charles Collins, 
Jeffrey Hazard. . 
George Engs, 
Jeffrey Hazard, . 
Benjamin B. Thurston, 
Joseph Childs, 
Byron Diman, 
Nathaniel Bullock, 
Byron Diman, 
Elisha Harris,* 
Edward W. Lawton, 
Thomas Whipple, 
William Beach Lawrence 
Samuel G. Arnold, 
Francis M. Dimond, 
John J. Reynolds, 
Anderson C. Rose, 
Nicholas Brown, 
Thomas G. Turner, 
Isaac Saunders, . 
J. Russell Bullock, 
Samuel G. Arnold, 
Seth Padelford, 
Duncan C. Pell, 
William Greene, 
Pardon W, Stevens, 
Charles R. Cutler, 
Charles C. Van Zandt 
Henrv T. Sisson,* 



Feb., 



1799 to May, 1799. 
. 1799 to 1800. 

1800 to 1803. 
. 1803 to 1806. 

1806 to 1807. 
. 1807 to 1808. 

1808 to 1810. 
. 1810 to 1811. 

1811 to 1816. 
. 1816 to 1817. 

1817 to 1821. 
. 1821 to 1824. 

1824 to 1833. 
. 1833 to 1835. 

1835 to 1836. 
. 1836 to 1837. 

1837 to 1838. 
. 1838 to 1840. 

1840 to 1842. 
. 1842 to 1843. 

1843 to 1846. 
. 1846 to 1847. 

1847 to 1849. 
. 1849 to 1851. 

1851 to 1852. 
. 1852 to 1853. 

1853 to 1854. 
. 1854 to 1855. 

1855 to 1856. 
. 1856 to 1857. 

1857 to 1859. 
. 1859 to 1860. 

1860 to 1861. 
, 1861 to 1863. 

1863 to 1865. 
. 1865 to 1866. 

1866 to 1868. 
. 1868 to 1872. 

1872 to 1873. 
. 1873 to 1875. 

1875 to 



Elected by the Assembly : no choice by the people. 



MEMBERS 



OF THE 



Continental ftonate^^ 



From Rhode Island. 



Jonathan Arnold, 
Peleg Arnold, 
John Collins, 
Ezekiel Cornell, 
William Ellery. 
Jonathan J. Hazard. 
Stephen Hopkins, , 
David Howell, 
James Manning, 
Henry Marchant, 
Nathan Miller, 
Daniel Mowry, 
James M, Varnum, . 
Samuel Ward, 
John Gardner, 
William Bradford,* 
John Brown,* 
George Champlin,* 
Paul Mumford,* 
Peter Phillips,* 
Sylvester Gardner,* 
Thomas Holden,* 



1782 to 1783. 
1787 to 1789. 
1778 to 1782. 
1780 to 1782. 
1776 to 1784. 

1787 to 1789. 
1774 to 1779. 
1782 to 1784. 
Feb., 1786. 

Feb., 1777 to 1784. 
Feb., 1786. 
1780 to 1781. 
1780, '81. '86. 
1774 to 1775. 

1788 to 1789. 
Oct., 177(i. 

1785. 
1785 to 1786. 

1785. 

1785. 

1787. 
1788 to 1789. 



" Daly elected, but their names are not in the Journals of Congress, 



^owm itt IljoDe Island, 



DATE OF INCORPORATION, ETC. 



Counties and- Date op 

Towns. Incoepokation. 



Bristol Co. 



Barrington 
Bristol ...- 

Warren. . . . 



Feb'ylT, 1746-47.. 



June 16, 1770.... 
Jan'y 27, 1746-47 

Jan'y 27, 1746-47. 



Kent Co June 15, 1750 



Coventry 



August 21, 1741. 



East Greenwich October 31. 1677 



West Greenwich April 6, 1741 



From what Taken, Original 

Names, Changes of Boundaries, &c. 



Incorporated with same county limits 
as at present. Originally the county 
consisted of two towns, Bristol and 
Warren. Afterwards, June, 1770, War- 
ren was divided, and the Town of 
Barrington was iucorporated. 

Taken from Warren, which see. 

Five towns received from Massachusetts 
this date. A portion of Bristol an- 
nexed to Warren, May 30, 1873. 

See Bristol. The territory of the Town 
of Warren, when admitted to the State, 
included the Town of Barrington, and 
a portion of the towns of Swanzey and 
Relioboth, in Massachusetts. In 1770 
Warren was divided, and one of the 
original names (Barrington) was given 
to the new town. 



Taken from Providence County. In- 
corporated with the same county limits 
as at present, and same towns. 

Taken from Warwick. 

Incorporated as the Town of East Green- 
wich. Name changed to Bedford, 
June 23, 1686, The original name 
restored in 1689. The town divided 
in 1741. 

i Taken froaa East Greenwich, which see. 



APPENDIX. 



341 



Counties and 
Towns. 



Warwick . 



^Newport Co. 



Fall River 

Jamestown. ... 
Little Compton 

Middletown 

Newport 



New Shoreham. 



Portimouth. 



Tiverton . 



Date of 
Incorporation. 



Original town. 



June 22, 1703 

October 6, 1856... 

November 4, 1678. 
Jan'y27, 1746-47. 

June 16, 1743 

Original town. . .. 



November 6, 1672. 



Original town. 



Jan'y 27. 1746-47. 



From what Taken, Original 
Names, Changes of Boundaries, Ac. 



First settled January. 1642-43. Named 
from Earl of Warwick, who signt-d the 
Patent of Providence Plantations, 
March 14, 1643. The first action of 
the inhabitants as a town was August 
8, 1647. Indian name, Shawomet. 



Originally incorporated as Rhode Island 
County, June 16, 1729, incorjtorated as 
Newport County, and included New- 
port, Portsmouth, Jamestown and 
New Shoreham. 

Taken from Tiverton. Ceded to Massa^ 
cliusettsin the settlement of the boun- 
dary question. March 1, 1862. See 
Pawtucket and East Providence. 

Named in honor of King James. Indian 
name Quononoqutt (Conanicut). 

One of the five towns received from 
Massachusetts. Annexed to Newport 
County February 17, 1746-47. Indian 
name, Seaconnet. 

Town in the "middle" of the island. 
Taken from Newport. 

Settled in 1639. Line between Newport 
and Portsmouth established Septem- 
ber 14, 1640. Incorporated as a city 
June 1, 1784. City charter given up 
March 27, 1787. City incorporated the 
second time at the May session. 1853, 
and the charter accepted May 20, 1853. 

Admitted to Colony as Block Island, 
May 4, 1664. When incorporated in 
1672, name changed to New Shoreham 
"assignes of our unity and likeness 
to many parts of our native country." 
Indian name Mannasses or Manisses. 

Settled in 1638. Indian name Pocasset. 
"At a quarter meeting of the first of 
ye 5th month 1639. it is agreed upon 
to call this town Portsmouth " At the 
"Generall Courte " at "Nieuport" 
12th of 1st month, 1640, the name of 
Portsmouth was confirmed. 

One of the five town.«« received this date 
from Massachusetts. See Bristol, 
Warren, &c. Indian name Pocasset. 
Annexed to Newport County, February 
17, 1746-47. 



342 



HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. 



COtTNTIES AND 

Towns. 



I'ROTTDENCE CO. . . 



Burrillyille 



Crancton 



Date of 
incokporation. 



June 22, 1703. 



October 29, 1806 



June 14, 1754. 



Cumberland . 



East ProTidence 



Jan'y 27, 1746-47 



March 1, 1862. 



Poster August 24, 1781 



Oloceater . 



Johnaton 



Lincoln. 



Feb'y20, 1730-31. 



March 6, 1759. 



March 8, 1871. 



From what Taken, Original 
Names, Changes of Boundaries, &c. 



Originally incorporated as the County of 
Providence Plantations, and included 
the present territory of Providence, 
Kent and Washington counties, ex- 
cepting the present towns of Cumber- 
land, Pawtucket and East Providence. 
The name was changed to Providence 
County June 16, 1729. See Kent and 
Washington counties. 

Taken from Glocester. The town was 
first authorized to meet to elect oflS- 
cers, Nov. 17, 1806. Named from 
Hon. James Burrill. 

Taken from Providence. Probably named 
from Samuel Cranston, who was Gov- 
ernor of Rhode Island from March, 
1698, to April 26, 1727, when he died. 
A portion re-united to Providence, 
June 10, 1868, and March 28, 1873. 

One of the five towns received this 
date See Tiverton, Bristol, &c. 
Until incorporated in Rhode Island it 
was known as Attleboro Gore. Named 
from Cumberland, England. Annexed 
to Providence County, February 17, 
1746-47. A portion of Cumberland 
was incorporated as the Town of Woon- 
socket, January 31, 1867. 

The westerly part of Eehoboth, Massa- 
chusetts, was incorporated as See- 
konk, February 26, 1812. The west- 
erly part of Seekonk was annexed to 
Rhode Island, incorporated as a town, 
and named East Providence in the 
settlement of the boundary question 
in 1862. See Pawtucket and Fall 
River. 

Taken from Scituate. Named probably 
from Hon. Theodore Foster. 

Taken from Providence. At this date 
an act was passed *' for erecting and 
incorporating the outlands of the Town 
of Providence into three towns." 
These towns were Scituate, Glocester 
and Smithfield. 

Taken from Providence, and named in 
honor of Augustus Johnston, Esq., 
the attorney-general of the Colony at 
that time. 

Taken from Smithfield, and named in 
honor of Abraham Lincoln, late Presi- 
dent of the United States. 



APPENDIX. 



843 



Counties and 
Towns. 



Date of 
Incorporation. 



North Providence. ..June 13, 1765. 



North Smithfleld March 8, 1871. 



Pawtucket March 1, 1862. 



Provideuce 


Original town 


Scitiiate 


Feb" y 20, 1730-31.... 


Emitbfield 


Feb' y 20, 1730-31... 


Woonsocket 


Jan'y31, 1867 


WASHixaTON Co. . . 


June 16, 1729 


Charlestown 


August 22, 1738 


Exeter 


March 8, 1742-43.... 







From WHAT Taken, uuioiwAr- 
Names, Changes of Boundaries, &c 



Taken from Providence. A Bmall por- 
tion reunited to Providence .lune 29, 

! 1767, and March 28, 1873. The town 
was divided March 27, 1874, a portion 
was annexed to the City of i'ro\ idi-nce 
and a portion to the Town of I'aw tuckrt. 

. The act went into effect May 1, 1874, 

Taken from Smithfleld, and incorpor- 
ated as the Town of Slater. Name 
changed to North Smithfleld, March 
24, 1871. 

jName of Indian origin. Partof Seekonk, 
1 Mass., was incorporated as the Town of 
Pawtucket. March 1. 1828. The w hole 
Town of Pawtucket except a small 
portion 1} ing easterly of Seven Mile 
; River was annexed to Rhode Island, 
j with East Providence, which see. A. 
1 portion of the Town of North Provi- 
I dence annexed to Pawtucket, May 1, 
: 1874. 

Settled in 1636. Named Providence by 

Roger Williams, "in gratitude to his 

j supreme deliverer." Originally com- 

j prised the whole county. City incor- 

I porated in 1832. Portions of the Town 

I of Cranston w ere re-annexed to Prov- 

! idence June 10, 1768. and March 28, 

; 1873. Portions of North Providence 

were re-aunexed June 29, 1767, March 

28, 1873, and May 1, 1874. 

Taken from Providence. See Glocester 

Taken from Providence. See Glocester. 

I The town was divided MaichS, 1871, 
a portion being annexed to Woon- 
socket, and the remainder divided 
into three towns. See Lincoln and 

I North Smithfleld. 

Name of Indian origin. Taken from 
i Cumberland. A portion of Smithfleld 
was annexed to Woonsocket March 8, 
I 1871. 



Originally called the " Narragansett 
country." Named King's Province, 
March 20, 1654. Boundaries estab- 

' lished May 21, 1669. Incorporated 
June, 1729, as King's County, with 
three towns and sauie territory as at 
present. Name changed to Washing- 
ton County, October 29, 1781. 

Taken from Westerly. 

Taken from North Kingstown. 



344 



HISTOKY OF KHODE ISLAND. 



Counties and 


Date of 


From what Taken, Original 


Towns. 


Incorporation, 


Names.Changes of Boundaries, &c. 


Hopkinton 


Marcli 19, 


1757 


Taken from Westerly. 


North Kingstown. . 


October 28 

« 


, 1674.... 


First settlement, 1641. Incorporated in 
1674, under the name of King's 
Towne, as tlie seventh town in the 
Colony. Incorporation reaffirmed in 
1679. Name changed to Eochester 
June 23, 1686. Name restored in 
1689 ; see East Greenwich. Kings- 
town, divided into North and South 
Kingstown, February. 1722. The act 
provided that North Kingstown should 
be the oldest town. 


South Kingstown. . 


Feb'y 26, 


1722-23... 


See North Kingstown. Pettiquamscut 
settled January 20, 1657-58. 


Bichmoud 


August 18 


1747 


Taken from Charlestown. 


Westerly 


May 14, 1669 


Original name Misquamicut. Incorpo- 
rated in May, 1669. under the name of 
Westerly, as the fifth town in the Col- 
ony. Name of Westerly changed to 
Haversham, June 23, 1686, but soon 
restored. 



Note. — In several cases the exact date of the passage of the act of incorporation 
of towns cannot be ascertained. In such cases the date of the meeting of the 
General Assembly at which the act was passed is given. 



iotol |)0tittlation of JUjoiif hianh, 



From 1708 to 1875. 



Towns and Divisions 
OF THE State. 



Barringtoii, 
Bristol, . . 
Warren, 

Bristol Co. 



Coventry, . . . 
East Greenwich, 
West Greenwich, 
Warwick, . . 



Kent Co., 



Fall River, 
Jamestown, 
Little Compton, 
Middletown, . 
Newport, . . 
New Shoreham, 
Portsmouth, . 
Tiverton, . . 



Newport Co., 

Burrillville, 
Cranston, . . 
Cumberland, . 
East Providence, 
Foster, . . . 
Glocester, . . 
Johnston, . . 
North Providence, 
Pawtucket, 
Scituate, . . 
Smithfield, 



Towns, Prov. Co., . 

Providence City, 

Charlestown, . . . 

Exeter, 

Hopkinton, . . . 
North Kingstown, . 
South Kingstown, . 
Richmond, .... 
Westerly, .... 



Washington Co., 
Whole State, . 



'""^ 












■3 a 




1 


1i s. 


1708. 


1730. ; 














■ji ~ 













1748. 



1770 
1747 
1747 

1747 

1741 
;1677 
1741 
1643 

1750 

18.5(5 
1()78 
1747 
1743 
1(139 
1(1712 
1(338 
1747 

1 1703 

jl806 

!1754 

1747 

il862 

1781 

1731 

1759 

1765 

18G 

1731 

1731 

1 1703 

i 

1636 

1738 
1743 
1757 

1074 
1723 
1747 
1669 

!l729 

i 

1636 



240 
480 



720 



206 



2,203 

208 
()28 



3,245 



— 1,069 

—I 680 



— ; 1,749 

— ; 792 

1,223 1,044 

— S 766 

1,178 1,782 



2,401 4,384 



321 



4,640 
290 ' 
813 



6,064 



420 
1,152 

680 
6,508 

300 

992 
1,040 



1755. 



1774. i 177G. 



— ()01 5:J8 

1,080 1,209! 1,067 

925 979 1,005 



2,005 2,789 2,pi0 



1,178 2,023 
1,167 1,663 
1,246: 1,764 



.2,300 
1,664 
1,653 



1,911 ; 2,438j 2,376 



5,5021 7,888 7,993 



517i 
1,170 

778 
6,753 

378; 
1,363 



563 322 

1,232 1,302 

881 1 860 

9,209, 5,299 

575 I 478 

1,512; 1,347 



i;325; i;956| 2;091 



11,0921 12,284' 15,928 11,699 



— 1,460 1,861 
806 1,083, 1,756 



1,701 
1,686 



1,202| 1,511 2,945, 2,832 

— — ' 1,031 1 1,022 

— — 830 813 



— — 1,232 1,813 3,601 
_ _ 450 1,921 2,888 



3,289 
2,781 



1,446 



1,200 

570 
1,770 
7,181 



— 3,690, 7,788 14,912 14,124 



3,916 3,452 3,159, 4,321 



4,356 

— 1,002; 1,130 1,821 1,835 

— 1,174 1,404 l,8t>4 1,982 
_ _ — 1,808 1,845 

2,105 1,935 2,109 2,472 2,761 

1 523, 1,978- 1,913 2,835 2,779 

_ 508 829 l,257i 1,204 

1,926J 1,809, 2,291 1,812 1,824 

"s^^ 8,406. 9,676 13,86n| 14,230 

17,935 32,773 40,414 59,707 55,011 



Note.— The permission to use these 
Secretary of State. 



valuable tables I owe to Hon. J. M. Addeman, 



346 



HISTORY OF EHODE ISLAND. 



Towns and Divisions 
OF THE State. 



Barrington, . 
Bristol, . . 
Warren, . . 



Bristol Co., 

Coventry, . , . 
East Greenwich, 
West Greenwich, 
Warwick, . . 

Kent Co., . . 



Fall River, . . 
Jamestown, . . 
Little Compton, 
Middletown, 
Newport, . . . 
New Shorehani, 
Portsmouth, . . 
Tiverton, . . . 



Newport Co., . 

Burrillville, . . 
Cranston, . . . 
Cumberland, 
East Providence, 
Foster, .... 
Glocester, . . 
Johnston, . . . 
North Providence, 
Pawtucket, . . 
Scituate, . . . 
Smithfield, . . 

Towns, Prov. Co., 

Providence City, 

Charlestown, . . 
Exeter, .... 
Hopkinton, . . . 
North Kingstown, 
South Kingstown, 
Richmond, . . . 
Westerly, .... 



Washington Co., 
Whole State, 



1782. 1790. 



534 

1,032 

905 



683 
1,406 
1,122 



2,471 

2,107 
1,609 
1,698 
2,112 



3,211 

2,477 
1,824 
2,054 
2,493 



1800. 1810. 



1820. 



650 
1,678 
1,473 



3,801 

2,423 

1,775 
1,757 
2,532 



7,526! 8,8481 8,487 



604 
2,693 
1,775 



634 
3,197 
1,806 



5,072^ 5,637 



2,928 
1,530{ 
1,6191 

3,7571 



3,139 
1,519 
1,927 
3,643 



9,834 i 10,228 



345 
1,341 I 

674 
5,530 

478 i 
1,350 
l,959i 



507 
1.542 

840 
6,716 

682 
1,560 
2,453 



501 
1,577 

913 

6.739 

,714 

1,684 

2,717 



11,677 



1,589 
1,548 



14,300 14,845 



1,877 
1,964 



1,644 
2,056 



1,763| 2,268 

2,791 1 4,025 

996! l,.320 

698! 1,071 



2,457 
4,009 
1,364 
1,067 



1,628! 

2,2171 



2,315 
3,17l! 



2,523 
3,120 



13,230| 18,011j 18,240 
4,310i 6,38o| 7,614 



1,5231 

2,058 i 
1,7351 
2,328 1 
2,675! 
1,094! 
1,720 



2,022 

2,495 
2,462 
2,907 
4,131 
1,760 
2,298 



1,454 
2,476 
2,276 
2,794 
3,438 
1,368 
2,329 



13,133 1 18,075 
52,347! 68,825 



16,135 
69,122 



504 
1,553 

976 
7,907 

722 
1,795 
2,837 



448 
1,580 

949 
7,319 

955 
1,645 
2,875 



16,294 

1,834 
2,161 
2,210 



2,613 
2,310 
1,516 

1,758 



15,771 

2,164 
2,274 
2,653 



2,900 
2,504 
1,542 
2,420 



2,5681 
3,828! 



2,834 
4,678 



20,798] 23,969 
10,0711 11,767 



1,174 
2,256 
1,774 
2,957 
3,560 
1,330 
1,911 



1,160 

2,581 
1,821 
3,007 
3,723 
1,423 
1,972 



1830. 



612 
3,034 
1,800 



5,446 

3,851 
1,591 

1,817 
5,529 



12,7^ 



415 

1,378 
915 
8,010 
1,185 
1,727 
2,905 



16,535 

2,196 
2,652 
3,675 



2,672 
2,521 
2,115 
3,503 



3,993 

6,857 



14,962 15,687 
77,031; 83,059 



30,184 

16,836 

1,284 
2,383 
1,777 
3,036 
3,663 
1,363 
1,915 



15,421 
97,210 



APPENDIX, 



347 



Towns and Divisions 
OF THE State. 



Barrington, . . 
Bristol, . . , 
Warren, . . . 

Bristol Co., . 

Coventry, . . 
East Greenwich, 
West Greenwich, 
Warwick, 

Kent Co., . 

Fall River, . 
Jamestown, . 
Little Compton, 
Middletown, 
New Shoreham, 
Portsmouth, 
Tiverton, 



Towns, Newport Co. 
Newport City, . . 



Burrillville, . . 
Cranston, . . . 
Cumberland, 
East Providence, 
Foster, . . . 
Glocester, . . 
Johnston, . . 
Lincoln, . . . 
North Providence, 
North Smithfield, 
Pawtucket, . . 
Scituate, . . . 
Smithfield, . . 
Woonsocket, 



Towns, Prov. Co., 

Providence City, 

Charlestown, . . 
Exeter, .... 
Hopkinton, . . . 
North Kingstown, 
South Kingstown, 
Richmond, . . . 
Westerly, . . . 

Washington Co., 
Whole State, 




549 
3,490 
2,437 



795 
4,616 
3,103 



1,000 
5,271 
2,636 



1,028 1,111 1,185 
4,649 5,302 5,829 
2,792 3,008 4,005 



6,476 


8,514 


8,907 


8,469 


9,421^ 11,019 


3,433 


3,620 


4,247 


3,995 


4,349 4,580 


1,509 


2,358 


2,882; 2,400 


2,660 3,120 


1,415 


1,350 


1,258 


1,228 


1,133 1,034 


6,726 


7,740 


8,916 


7,696 


10,453 11,614 


13,083 


15,068 


17,303 


15,319 


18,595 20,348 


— 





3,337 





' 


365 


358 


400 


349 


378 488 


1,327 


1,462 


l,304i 1,197 


1,166 1,156 


891 


830 


1,012 


1,019 


971 1,074 


1,069 


1,262 


1,320 


1,308 


1,113 1,147 


1,706 


1,833 


2,048 


2,153 


2,003 1,893 


3,183 


4,699 


1,927 


1,973 


1,898 2,101 


8,541 


10,444 


11,388 


7,999 


7,529 7,859 


8,333 


9,563 


10,508 


12,688 


12,521 14,028 


1,982 


3,538 


4,140 


4,861 


4,674 5,249 


2,901! 4,311 


7,500 


9,177 


4,822; 6,688 


5,225 i 6,661 


8,339 


8,216 


3,882 5,673 


— 


— 


— 


2,172 


2,668 4,336 


2,181 


1,932 


1,935 


1,873 


1,630 1,543 


2,304 


2,872 


2,427 


2,286 


2,385 2,098 


2,477 


2,937 


3,440 


3,436 


4,192 4,999 


— 


— 


— 


— 


7,889 11,565 


4,207 


7,680 


11,818 


14,553 


20,495 1,303 


— 


— 


— 


— 


3,052 2,797 


— 


— 


— 


5,000 


6,619 18,464 


4,090 


4,582 


4,251 


3,538 


3,846 4,101 


9,534 


11,500 


13,283 


12,315 


2,605 2,857 


— 


— 


— 


— 


11,527 13,576 


34,901 


46,013 


57,133 


67,427 


80,286 84,249 


23,172 41,513 


50,666 


54,595 


68,904 100,675 


i 923 1 994 


981 


1,134' 


1,119 1,054 


1,7761 1,634 
1 1,726^ 2,477 


1,741 


1,498' 


1,462 1,.'«5 


2,738 


2,512 


2,682 2,760 


2,909 


2,971 


3,104 


3,166 


3,568 3,505 


I 3,717 


• 3,807 


4,717 


4,513 


4,493 4,240 


1,361 


1,784 


1,964 


1,830 


•2.064 1,739- 


1,912 


2,763 


3,470 


3,815, 


4,709 5,408 


14,324 


16,430 


18,715 


18,468' 


20,097 20,061 


108,830 


147,545 


174,620 


184,965' 


217,353 258,239 



^tate Valuation. 



Valuation of the several towns and cities in the State as returned by the town and 
-city clerks to the Secretary of State, October, 1875. 



Town or City. 



Barrington, 
Bristol, . 
Warren, . 



Bristol County, 

Coventry, . . . 
East Greenwich, . 
West Greenwich, . 
Warwick, . . . 

Kent County, , 

Jamestown, . . 
Little Compton, 
Middletown, 
Newport, . . 
New Shoreham, 
Portsmouth, 
Tiverton, . . 



Newport County, 



Burrillville, 
Cranston, . . 
Cumberland, . 
East Providence, 
Foster, . . . 
Glocester, . . 
Johnston, . . 
Lincoln, . . . 
North Providence, 
North Smithfield, 
Pawtucket, . 
Providence, . 
Scituate, . . 
Smithfield, . 
Woonsocket, 



Providence Co., 

Charlestown, . . 
Exeter, .... 
Hopkinton, . . . 
North Kingstown, 
South Kingstown, 
Richmond, . . . 
Westerly, . . . 

Washington Co., 

Whole State, 



Real Estate. 



Personal 

Estate. 



Total. 



Rate of 

Tax on 

each 

$100.* 



$985,505 
3,210,700 
2,052,950. 



$509,300 
1,900,400 
2,115,150 



$1,494,805 
5,111,100 
4,168,100 



,249,155 $4,524 850 $10,774,005 



$2,616,300, 

1,465,402' 

.362,030: 

7,577,500! 



$1,437,100 

372,550 

143,140 

2,840,900 



$4,053,400 

1,837,952 

505,170 

10,418,400 



$12,021,232 $4,793,690, $16,814,922 



$785,300 
830,950 

1,596,000 

20,831,000 

287,384 

1,556,400 

1,262,913 



$27,149,947 

$1,853,600 

5,864,550 

3,671,250 

4,566,700 

535,300 

824,555 

3,686,600 

5,474,350 

803,705 

1,270,550 

12,648,774 

82,862,900 

1,571,300 

1,366,600 

6,979,900 



$273,400 
435,600 
398,200 

8,040,200 

45,304 

674,500, 

484,285; 



$1,058,700 
1,266,550 
1,994,200 

28,871,200 

332,688 

2,230,900 

. 1,747,198 



$10,351,489 $37,501,436 



$133,379,634 

$612,800 
546,860 
1,326,850 
1,869,905 
3,002,490 
1,006,800 
3,113,800 



$896,800 
934,200 

2,084,050 
817,800 
148,900 
450,550 
784,900 

1,732,800 
199,500 
966,400 

3,603,656 

39,091,800 

776,600 

728,900 

2,533,370 



$11,479,505 



$55,750,226 

$88,450 
123,580 
4.38,450 
969,630 

1,458,610 
257,400 

1,379,175 



$2,750,4001 

6,798,7^50! 

5,755,300 

5,383,500 1 

684,200 

1,275,105 

3,871,500 

7,207,150! 

1,003,205; 

2,236,950; 

16,252,430; 

121,954,700! 

2,347,900 

2,095,500; 

9,513,270 



$189,129,860 

$701,25o' 
670,440; 
1,765,300 
2,839,535! 
4,461,100 
1,264,200| 
4,492,975, 



$4,715,295 $16,194,800 



$190,279,473 $80,135,550 $270,415,023 



).55 
.78 
.64 



.40 
.50 
.90 
.50 



.50 
.50 
.60 
.77 
2.25 
.58 
.60 



.74 
.50 
.65 
.70 
.94 
.80 
.80 
.80 
.80 
.70 
1.25 
1.45 
.85 
.85 
1.20 



.70 
.50 
.65 
.52 
.60 
.65 
.60 



* Including highway tax. 



M)t doxim (fu0jnc 



AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. 



This engine was furnished by George H. Corliss, of Providence,. 
Rhode Island, and was especially designed for supplying motive power 
at the International Exposition of 1876. This engine is of fourteen 
hundred horse-power, but is capable of doing the work of twenty-five 
hundred horses if necessary. With its appurtenances it weighs over 
seven hundred tons, and furnishes power to all the machinery in the 
building. Miles of shafting lead away from it along the aisles from 
end to end. Of these are eight main lines of shafting, four on each 
side of the central transept w^here the engine stands, extending length- 
wise. Seven have a speed of one hundred and twenty revolutions, 
and one a speed of two hundred and forty revolutions a minute. A 
line of shafting is also provided for carrying power into the pump 
annex, and counter shafts are introduced into the aisles at different 
points. The power is transmitted by the spur-gear fiy-wheel, thirty 
feet in diameter, weighing fifty-six tons; the jack-wheel ten feet in 
diameter on the main shafting, which being run under the floors to 
the pulleys, the power is transmitted thence to the eight main lines of 
shafting above the floor, aggregating more than a mile in length, from 
which the machinery of the Exposition derives its power. The engine 
makes thirty-six revolutions per minute, and for driving them there 
are twenty Corliss boilers capable of developing fourteen hundred 
horse-power, and of standing a jiressure of one hundred pounds to 
the square inch. The platform on which the engine stands is breast 
high. From this, on either side, a long iron staircase mounts to the top 
of the A frames, where narrow walks with brass railings lead about 
among the moving masses aloft in the air. It is five times a man's 
height from the platform to the top of the walking-beam. 

It is a tamed monster with unresistable power. To see a man walk 
calmly around among the great beams and cranks is a sight to make one 
shiver. He caresses a polished crank of steel that woukl crush him to 
bits if he should stop in its path . He pats the ends of the beams as they 
fly up and down past him, and touches the joints with liis oiler. Aside 
from the fact that the engine is one of the largest of its kind, it is so 
unique in construction and form that it is all new to beholders. It is. 
a model of simplicity and picturesqueness. 



Iitk^. 



A. 

Adams, John, 98, 224. 
Adams, Samuel, 98. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, 170, 17G. 
Albany Congress, 17G. 
Almy," Christopher, 110. 
Almy, William, 272. 
Anabaptists, 140. 
Andres, Sir Edmond, 101, 102, 

104, 105, 107, 108, 110. 
Angell, 231. 
Annapolis, 129. 
Annapolis Royal, 168, 
Anne, Queen, 135. 
Ann, Fort, 132. 
Antinomians, 140. 
Anti-Sabbatarians, 140. 
Aquidneck, 15, 17, 19, 38, 62, 70. 

75, 84, 97, 129. 
Arminians, 140. 
Arnold, 225. 
Arnold, Governor, 80. 
Ashurst, Sir Henry, 122. 
Atherton, Humphrey, 46, 47, 49, 

50, 84, 101, 106, 114. 

B. 

Bailey, Richard, 80. 

Baptists, 30, 105, 120, 159, 196. 

Barbadoes, 127. 

Barber, Henry, 248. 

Bartlett, J. R., 286. 

Beaver, The. 206. 

Beaver Tail Light, 173, 246. 

Bellemont, Lord, 118, 119, 122. 

Berkeley, George,' 146, 147, 179, 

203. 
Block Island, 55, 56, 112, 121, 125, 

151, 156. 
Bloody Brook, 72. 
Borden, John, 70. 



Boston, 2, 3, 4, 7, 17, 22, 31, 69, 73, 
77, 100, 101, 103, 107, 115, 116, 
119, 128, 138, 144, 149, 152, 154, 
203, 211, 219, 228, 236. 

Boston Port Bill, 211, 215. 

Bowen, Ephraim, 208. 

Bowler, Metcalf, 192, 206. 

Bradford, (printer,) 129. 

Bradford, William, 220. 

Brenton, Jahleel, 117. 

Brenton's Point, 245, 246. 

Breton, Cape, 170. 

Bridge, Rev. Christopher, 121. 

Bridgham, Samuel W., 275. 

Briniey, Francis, 108. 

Bristol, 38, 168, 230. 

Bristol, County of, 11. 

Bristol, Town of, 70, 144, 224, 227, 
235, 249. 

Brookfield, 71. 

Brown, John, 196, 274. 

Brown, Moses, 272. 

Brown, Smith, 272. 

Brown University, 147, 196. 

Bucklin, Joseph, 208. 

Bull, Henry, 110, 111. 

Bunker Hill, 221, 223. 



Callender, John, 173. 
Calvinists, 140. 
Cambridge, 98. 
Canada, 129, i;iO, 170. 
Canonchet, 75, 76. 
Canonicus. 11, 12, 20, 28. 
Careless, Thomas, 199. 
Carolina South, 1:^5, 243. 
Carr, Sir Robert, 57, 59. 
Carteret, Lord, 146. 
Carthagena, 157. 
Cartwright George, 57. 



352 



INDEX. 



Cham pi in farm, 266. 

Charles I., 47. 

Charles II., 39, 41, 47, 51, 95, 98, 
277. 

Charlestown, 171. 

Charter House, 2. 

Chepachet, 281. 

Church, Benjamin, 70, 76. 

Church's Harbor, 188. 

Clarke, Jeremy, 25. 

Clarke, John, 18, 30, 31, 32, 34, 40, 
42, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 
61, 63, 64, 65, 85, 124, 141, 277, 
287. 

Clarke, Walter, 99, 104. 

Clawson, John, 92. 

Coddington, Nathaniel, 117. 

Coddington, William, 18, 25, 30, 
31, 32, 37, 87. 

Coggeshall, John, 25, 94. 

Coke, Sir Edward, 2. 

Collins, Governor, 263. 

Conanicut, Island of, 11, 20. 

Congregationalists, 120, 175. 

Connecticut, 22, 30, 45, 46, 47, 48, 
49, 50, 51, 57, 58, 61, 64, 65, 66, 
72, 77, 79, 80, 81, 84, 86, 96, 100, 
104, 105, 106, 109, 114, 122, 124, 
130, 138, 152, 163, 171, 186, 242, 
243, 261. 

Connecticut River, 71. 

Cook, Colonel, 230. 

Cooke, Esek, 225. 

Cooke, Nicholas, 198, 220, 225, 235, 
254. 

Copley, 147. 

Cornberry, Lord, 125. 

Coweset,*^79, 81. 

Coweset Bay, 93, 229. 

Cranston, 197. 

Cranston, John, 156, 166. 

Cranston, Samuel, 117, 118, 119, 
122, 124, 135, 141. 

Cranfield, 96, 97. 

Crary, Colonel, 244. 

Cromwell, 39. 

Cromwell, Richard, 39. 

Culpepper, Lord, 106. 

Cumberland, 168. 

Cygnet, The, 191. 

D. 

Davenport, Captain, 73. 
Dedford, 101. 
Deerfield, 71. 
Delaware, 11, 261. 
D'Estaing, 23(5, 237, 238, 239. 
Dexter Asylum, 275. 



Dexter, Ebenezer Knight, 275. 
Dickinson, John, 199. 
Dorr Rebellion, 279, 282. 
Dorr, Thomas Wilson, 280, 281. 
Doiiglass, David, 180. 
Downer, Silas, 199. 
Duddingston, Lieutenant, 206, 

208. 
Dudley, 100, 108, 122, 124, 125. ■ 
Dudley, Charles, 226. 
Durfee, Colonel Joseph, 236. 
Dutch Island, 158. 
Dyer, William, 25. 



E. 



Eastern, John, 111. 

Edwards, Mr., 50. 

Edwards, Rev. Morgan, 196. 

Eliot, John, 58, 59, 69. 

Ellery, William, 166, 253. 

Endicott, John, 55. 

England, 7, 22, 23, 29, .30, 31, 32, 
37, 39, 47, 64, 82, 83, 88, 92, 95, 
102, 103, 106, 107, 109, 110, 119, 
127, 128, 131, 138, 141, 143, 149. 
153, 156, 157. 

England, Church of, 2, 3, 103, 153. 

Episcopalians, 120, 140, 175. 

Exeter, 163, 196. 

Exposition, Centenary, 286. 



F. 



Fall River, 236. 

Familists, 140. 

Famme Goose Bay, 165. 

Farmer's Letters, 197, 199. 

Fellowship Club, 176. 

Fitch, Governor, 192. 

Flagg, Major Ebenezer, 251. 

Fones, Captain, 165. 

Fothergill, Samuel, 159. 

France, 64, 86, 110, 159. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 176, 190, 213, 

214, 261.. 
Franklin, James, 144, 147. 
Freemasonry, 181. 
Freetown, 121. 
French Residents, 178. 
Frenchtown, 107, 111. 



G. 



Gage, General, 215. 
Galloway, Mr., 130. 
Gardiner's Island, 250. 
Gaspee, 194, 206, 207, 211, 212,'221. 
George I., 135, 142. 



INDp]X. 



'?5*^ 



George II., 143, 142. 
George, Fort, 15(), 159. 21(5. 223. 
Goat Island, 123. 
Goddard, William, ISO. 214, 222 
Godfrey, John, 112. 
Goffe, 72. 

Gorton, Samuel, 18, 1*), 20. 22 '^9 
85. , , - , 

Goulding, Roger, 110. 

Greene, Christopher, 218, 22(), 231, 

2;34, 250. 
Greene, Governor, 248. 
Greene, James, 162. 
Greene, John, Gl, 82, 94, 97, 100, 

103, 106, 111, 114, 115, 119, 121. 
Greene, Nathanael, 218, 219, 220, 

236, 239, 250. 
Greene, William, 158, 235. 
Greenwich, 233, 
' Greenwich, East, 79, 82, 88, 101, 

151, 163, 174, 192, 212, 215, 218, 

244, 245, 256, 2.58, 282. 
Greenwich, West, 132, 163, 174, 

226. 
Gregorian Calendar, 175. 

H. 

Hadley, 71. 
Hall, Benoni, 206. 
Hamilton, 261. 
Hancock, John, 236. 
Hannah, The Sloop, 207. 
Harris, Thomas, 37. 
Harris, William, 33, 82, 85, 86. 
Hartford, 35, 7(j, 79, 105. 
Hartford Convention, 276. 
Harvard College, 121. 
Hatfield, 72. 
Haversham, 101. 
Hays, 24(>. 

Hazard's, Isaac P., farm, 267. 
Hazard's, Robert, farm, 266. 
Helme, James, 206. 
Henry, Patrick, 191. 
Herendeen, 92. 
Hill, Da\^.d, 205, 206. 
Hill, Lieutenant, 193. 
Hillsborough, Lord, 201. 
Hog Island, 38. 
Holden, Randall, 25, S2, 97. 
Holland, 32, ()4, 95, 149. 
Holmes, Obadiah, 30. 
Honey man's Hill, 121. 
Honeyman, James, 121. 
Hooker, Dr., 105. 
Hope Bay, Mount, 70. 
Hope Island, 226, 254. 
Hope. Mount, 11, 69, 70, 76. 

23 



Hopkins, Captain William. i:)7. 

Hopkins, Samuel, 204. 

Hopkins, Stephen. 10(5, 17(5, 178, 
179, ISO, ISS, 198, 200, 2(H;, 212 
216, 224, 233, 273. ' 

Hopkinton, 182. 

Howard, Martin, Jr.. 176. 

Howell, 2.53. 

Howland, John, 273. 

Hutchinscm, Anna, 17. 

Hutchinson, Captain, 49. 

Hutchinson, Governor, 171, 205. 

Hutchinson Letters, 213. 

Huguenots, 107, 135. 



J. 



Jackson, Daniel, 259. 

James, Fort, (52. 

James II., 98, 1(H), 105, KX), 107. 

Jamestown, 88, 158. 

Jenckes, Joseph, 131, 142, 148, 

152. 
Jews, 98, 2.5(5. 
Johnson, Captain, 73. 
Johnston, 182. 
Johnston, Augustus, 191. 
Judith, Point, 237. 



K. 



Katy, The, 222. 

Keeier, Captain, 212. 

Kent County. 58, 174. 

Kentish Guards, 218. 

Kidd, Captain, 119. 

King, Governor, 281. 

King's Province. 58. 59, 79,80, fX?. 

101, 104. 10(5, 107, 122, 252. 
Kingston, 73, 88, 93, 101, 121. 139. 
Kingstown, North, 1(53, 
Kingstown, South, 151. 247. 2.5S. 



L. 

Lafayette, 23(5, 2.39. 240, 248. 
Languedoc. The, 238. 
Lee, General, 226, 23.3. 
LeFavour. Heber. 284. 
Leister, 112. 
Lenthall, Robert, 54. 
Lexington, 219. 
Liberty, The Sloop, 202. 
Lincoln, President. 282. 
Lindsev, Captain, 207. 
Little Comi)ton, 121, 127. 1(5.8. 
Lockman, Ijconard, 164. 
London. 109. 



354 



INDEX. 



Long Island 62. 

Long Island, Indians of, 35. 

Lopez, 24G. 

Lopez, Moses, 175. 

Louisburg, 165, 166, 170. 

Lovelace, Governor, 62. 

Lutherans, 140. 

Lyndon, Josias, 198. 

Lynn, 30. 

Lyon, The Ship, 2. 

M. 

Madison, 261. 

Maidstone, 193. 

Maine, 61, 75. 

Malmedy, 233. 

Manhattan, 32. 

Marchant, 205, 254. 

Martha's Vineyard, 62, 

Martindale, Major, 124. 

Massachusetts Bay, Colony of, 3. 
4, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 
21, 22, 29, 30, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 
44, 45, 46, 50, 53, 55, 57, 58, 61, 
64, 6(i, 70, 72, 75, 84, 87, 96, 100, 
102, 105, 107, 109, 114, 118, 122, 
125, 126, 133, 134, 144, 152, 161, 
171, 179, 186, 212, 254, 261. 

Massasoit, 5, 8. 11, 12, 66. 

Mather, Cotton, 140. 

Mather, Dr. Increase, 109. 

Maverick, Samuel, 57. 

Mayflower, 13. 

Miantonomi, 5, 11, 20, 22. 

Middletown, 1(53. 

Milton, John, 16. 

Mohegans, 21, 22, 47, 76. 

Montague, Admiral, 207. 

Mooshausick Hill, 65. 

Mooshausick River, 9, 10, 12, 13, 
97, 183, 184. 

Moravian Mission, 174. 

N. 

Namcook, 46. 

Nantasket Roads, 2, 129. 

Nantiicket, 62. 

Narragansett, 31, 45, 50, 58, 79, 80, 

84, 89, 96, 106, 115, 124, 128, 175. 
Narragansett Bay, 7, 15, 19, 23, 

45, 4«, 48, 58, 62, 70, 80, 81, 96, 

150, 227, 23(), 241, 254. 
Narragansett River, 48, 51. 
Narragansetts. The, 11, 20, 21, 22, 

28, 35, 46, 72, 73, 75. 
Neale, Thomas, 116. 
Newhuryport, 236. 



New England, 23, 40, 45, 53, 58, 
75, 77, 88, 95, 96, 98, 100, 105, 107, 

114, 118, 131, 133, 145, 154, 159. 
New Haven, 22. 

New Jersey, 11, 105. 

New London, 112. 

New Netherlands, 62. 

Newport, 18, 25, 27, 29, 36, 40, 41, 
43, 44, 53, 61, 64, 65. 75, 88, 90, 
104, 108, 112, 121, 123, 124, 126, 
129, 130, 1.33, 136, 140, 142, 143, 
144, 145, 147, 150, 154, 157, 159, 
163, 172. 174, 179, 189, 191, 195, 
199, 203, 204, 207, 215. 218, 222, 
223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 235, 236, 
237, 238, 243, 245, 247, 250, 253, 
255, 259, 264, 273, 275, 278. 

Newport Artillery, 164. 

Newport Marine Society, 176. 

Newport Mercury, 180, 248. 

New York, 11, 15, 57, 62, 105, 112, 

115, 119, 125, 152, 157, 202, 249. 
Niantics, 76, 128. 

Nichols, Colonel Richard, 57. 
Niles, Samuel, 121. 
Ninigret, 35, 128, 1.37. 
Nipmucks, 71. 
Norris, Matthew, 155. 

O. 

Oleron, laws of, 25. 
Olney, Colonel, 2.31, 234. 
Olney's Tavern, 199. 
Olneys, The, 231. 
Olney. Thomas, 37. 
Otis, James, 89, 98. 



Paine, John, 62. 
Paine, Th6mas, 112. 
Pappoosquash Point, 249, 
Paris, Peace of, 177. 
Partridge, Richard, 158, 181. 
Patience, Island of, 19. 
Pawcatuck, 112, 114, 132. 
Pawcatuck River, 49, 51, 101. 
Pawtucket, 132. 
Pawtuxet River, 162, 197. 
Pawtuxet, 12, 29, .38, 45, 76, 82, 

83, 96. 
Pedobaptists, 140. 
Penn, William, 125, 
Pennsylvania, 261. 
Peoples' Constitution, 279. 
Pequots, 20, 21, 22, 55, 66, 76. 
Perry, Oliver H., 276. 
Pettaquamscott Pond, 105. 
Philadelphia. 226. 



INDEX. 



:J55 



Philip, King, 68, 69, 70, 71, 75, 
76, 77. 

Philip's, King, War, 66, 89. 120. 

Phipps, Sir William, 114. 

Pigot, Sir Robert, 2.37. 238. 

Pitt, William, 177. 

Plainfield, 1.32. 

Plymouth, Colony of, 3, 4, 5, 9, 
13, 14, 15, 22, 57, 61, 67, 69, 70, 
72, 76, 77, 84, 97, 114, 126, 2,36. 

Pocasset, 17, 19, 71. 

Port Royal, 129, 131, 166. 

Portsmouth, 24, 25,27, 29, 41, 44, 
63, 75, 88, 116, 124, 135, 136, 144, 
156, 158, 193. 

Portsmouth Grove, 285. 

Potter, Simeon, 218. 

Potter, Stephen, 206. 

Potowomut, 93, 101, 256. 

Potowomut River, 136. 

Presbyterians, 140. 

Prospect Hill, 223. 

Proud, John, 159. 

Providence, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 
18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 39, 
41, 43, 44, 54, 64, 65, 75, 78, 82, 
83, 88, 90, 94, 120, 130, 135, 136, 
148, 151, 153, 172, 174, 195, 199, 
200, 201, 203, 207, 209, 216, 218, 
219, 220, 223, 224, 229, 230, 233, 
249, 253, 258, 262, 264, 271, 273, 
275, 278, 279, 280. 

Providence Bank, 274. 

Providence Court House, 179. 

Providence Cove, 188. 

Providence Gazette and Country 
Journal, 180, 214. 

Providence Institution for Sav. 
ings, 274. 

Providence Library Association, 
171. 

Providence Plantations, 23, 24, 40, 
232. 

Prudence Island, 62, 227. 

Puritans, 2, 3, 105, 120. 

Q. 

Quakers, 39, 76, 103. 105, 120, 140, 

148, 152, 158, 159, 181. 
Quebec, 226. 
Quidnesset, 46. 
Quincy, Josiah, 98. 



R. 



Randolph, 96, 97, 100, 104, 119. 
Ranters, 140. 
Ray, Simon, 55. 



Redwood, Abraham, 2(K). 

Redwood Library. 147, 171. 200. 
250. 

Rehoboth, 24S. 

Reid. Captain William, 202, 

Rhode Island, 7, 11, 17, IH, 19, 22, 
29, .30, 32, 34, 38, .39, 40, 42, 44, 
45, 46, 47, 48, 53, .55, .56, 57, .58, 
59, 60, 61, 62, 63, f>4, 66, 70, 71, 
73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 84, 86. 87, 
92, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 102, 103, 
104, 105, lOi), 108. 109, 110, 111, 
112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 
120, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 
134, 135, 1.38, 144, 1.52, f)!), 1.57, 
158, 160, 1(51, 162, 163, 166, 168, 
171, 177, 181, 201, 205, 20t), 211, 
212, 213, 227, 228, 231, 2.32, 2.35, 
242, 247, 248, 250, 2.55, 256, 259, 
269, 270, 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 
277, 279, 281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 
287. 

Rhode Island Army of Observa- 
tion, 221, 223. 

Rhode Island, Island of, 15. 

Riveiras, 246. 

Robinson, John, 3. 

Rochambeau, 249, 250. 

Rochester, 101. 

Rogers, James, 175. 

Roman Catholics, 140, 150, 256. 

Rome, George, 213, 224. 

Rose, Frigate, 221. 

Roxbury, 73. 

Ryswick, Treaty of, 117, 118, 123. 



S. 



Sabbatarians. 81, 120. 

Salem, 4, 5, 7, 8, 85, 2.36. 

Sandford, Peleg, 80, 117. 

Sanford, John, 25. 

Say and Seal, Lord, 47. 

Scituate, 178, 258. 

Scituate Furnace Company, 200. 

Scott, John, 49, .50. 

Seekonk, 16. 

Seekonk River, 8, 9. 

Senegal, 199. 

Sej)aratists, 105. 

Sequasson, 22. 

Shawomut, 19, 20, 29. 

Sheffield, Captain Joseph, 157. 

Sherwood Joseph, 181, 205. 

Shoreham, New, .56, 88, 156. 

Simpson, Joseph, 216. 

Skelton, Mr., 4, 5. 

Slate Rock, 9. 

Slater, Samuel, 272. 



356 



INDEX. 



Smibert, 147. 
Socinians, 140, 
Spain, 86, 156, 159. 
Sparker, Henry, 199. 
Spencer, Genpral, 236. 
Springfield, 72. 
Stamper's Hill, 39. 
Stanton Farm, 266. 
Stanwix, Fort, 188. 
Star Chamber, 2. 
Stiles, Ezra, 200, 203. 
Stirling, Earl of, 62. 
Stonington, 76. 
Sullivan, 236, 237, 239. 
Sutton Hospital, 2. 
Swanzey, 69. 



Talbot, Silas, 242. 

Tartar, Ship, 155, 162, 165. 

Taunton River, 70. 

Taylor, George, 153. 

Ternay, 249, 250. 

Tevs^, Henry, IM. 

Thayer, Simeon, 226, 231. 

Theatres in Rhode Island, 180. 

Thurston, 150. 

Tiverton, 71, 121, 168, 230, 236, 

249. 
Tiverton Heights, 229. 
Trinity Church, 200, 250. 
Touros, 246. 
Turpin, William, 153. 



U. 



Uncas, 22. 

Underbill, Captain, 7. 

United Colonies, 22, 34, 35, 39, 46, 

50. 
Utrecht, Treaty of, 131. 

V. 

Vane, Sir Henry, 17, 20, 34. 
Varimm, General, 233, 234, 254. 
Varnum, James M., 218. 
Venus, Transit of, 200. 
Verin, Joshiia, 14. 
Virginia, 110, 116. 

W. 

Wallace, Sir James, 221, 223, 224, 

227. 
Walpole, 189. 
Walpole, Sir Robert, 143. 
Wamponoags, 11, 12, 66. 
Wamsutta, 67. 



Wanasquatucket, 12. ' 

Wanton, Captain John, 126, 153, 

158. 
Wanton, Captain William, 124, 

152. 
Wanton, Governor, 220, 221, 224, 

227. 
War of Independence, 202. 
Ward, Henry, 192. 
Ward, Major, 234. 
Ward, Richard, 158, 160, 178, 179, 

188, 192, 195, 198, 216. 
Ward, Samuel, 226, 228, 231. 
Warren, 98, 168, 227, 2.36. 
Warren Association of Baptist 

Churches, 196. 
Warwick, Colony of, 15, 20, 24, 

25, 27, 31, 34, 41, 43, 44, 58, 65, 

75, 76, 79, 82, 83, 88, 93, 94, 96, 

101, 111, 132, 163, 174. 
Warwick, Earl of, 23. 
Warwick Neck, 229. 
Washington, 248, 261, 274. 
Washington, The, 222. 
Waumaion, 92. 
West, 147. 

West, General, 227, 230. 
West Indies, 128, 149, 153, 158, 

271. 
Westerly, 88, 101, 121, 124 138, 

144, 151,182,215. 
Weybosset Bridge, 165, 188. 
What Cheer Square, 9. 
Whipple, Captain Abraham, 208, 

222 22(). 
Whipple Hall, 200. 
Whipple, Joseph, 175. 
Whitefield, Governor, 159. 
Wickford, 74, 121. 
Willard, Captain, 36. 
William and Mary, 109, 110. 
Williams, Roger, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 

19,20,21,22,23, 25, 27, 39, 31, 

32, 33, 34, ,35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 45, 

46, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 75, 82, 

85,86, 92, 141, 184, 256, 277, 287. 
Winslow, 29. 
Winslow, Major, 67. 
Winthrop, John, 46, 47, 49, 51, 

62, 124. 
Wolf, 77. 

Wonumytomoni Hill, 65. 
Worcester, 179. 

Y. 

Yale College, 147. 
Yemassee War, 135. 
York, Duke of, 62. 



Works by the Same Author. ^ 



Historical Studies. 

One vol., 121110.', 1850. 



Biographical Studies. 

One vol., i2nio,, i860. 



Nathanael Greene. 

An Examination of Some Passages in the 14th 
Volume of Mr. Bancrofts " History of the 
United" States. 

Eight vo., 1866. 



The Life: of Nathanael Greene, 

Major-General in the Army of the Revolution. 
Three vols., 8vo., 187 1. 



The German Element in the War 
of american independence. 

One vol., i2mo., 1876. 



9Z8 







LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





012 608 806 1 



